Draven Jackson
Blogger | Teacher
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Babies are cute and funny, and for many of us, they make our lives brighter. When they smile, we smile. And when they laugh, it’s like opening up a can of fresh sunshine. Babies are wonderful, there’s no doubt about that.
But this article isn’t about how great babies are – it’s about how good they have it. Children all over the world can live the easy life, a life that adults can’t even begin to comprehend. They can sleep throughout the day, cry when things don’t go their way, and there’s always someone around to remind them of how cute they are and make decisions for them. Little ones don’t have to worry about the stressors that adults do, and there are a lot of benefits to babyhood that get lost once you become an independent member of society.
So if you’ve ever looked at a baby and thought to yourself, “Wow, I wish I could cry and scream any time I felt overwhelmed,” then this article is for you. I hope you can laugh a little about the struggles of adulthood and find comfort in knowing that you’re not the only one who wishes they could nap for a few hours in the middle of the afternoon.
Sleep (all day even!)
One beautiful benefit to life for babies that adults, unfortunately, lose out on is the ability to sleep all day. With no responsibilities – no job, no family to take care of, and no housework to do – or general stressors to worry about, babies can happily sleep the day away. In fact, it’s even encouraged!
Not to mention, the wonder of nap times is lost on babies and small children. They don’t appreciate the opportunity they have and fight and scream not to take a nap. Meanwhile, my coworker and I each say, “I’m so tired, we need to put a little cot in the office” at least once a day. When you become an adult, you’re lucky if you get 8 hours of sleep on a regular weeknight (I always get somewhere between 5 and 7 depending on the day). It really is a loss for adults everywhere.
Cry and scream
I know it seems silly to think about, but it’s also something you know is true: one thing babies can do that adults can’t is simply cry and scream. I’m not talking about throwing a tantrum – well, not entirely. I’m just talking about feeling overwhelmed or sad or frustrated and allowing yourself the freedom to cry and scream without worrying about whether it makes you a “bad” adult.
We all have those days, the ones that feel like everything is just too much or too busy and if someone asks you to do one thing, you might just lose it. Unfortunately, unlike babies, adults don’t have the space to just let go and break down about what they’re feeling. It’s completely natural to want to cry or scream when life starts to feel like there’s too much needed from you or too much going on. It’s okay to take a minute to let out those feelings – holding them in and forcing yourself to ignore them will only make you feel worse later on.
But really, offices should invest in crying and screaming rooms. It would do wonders for employee morale.
Be cute while doing literally nothing
Babies are absolutely adorable in every conceivable way – and why is that? Because they’re babies. When you’re little, you don’t have to do anything special to be considered cute and fawned over. Your round cheeks are a blessing, and every time you smile the whole room lights up with you. There’s no pressure to be cute because you simply are cute.
When you’re an adult, it’s not quite that easy. There’s so much societal pressure to look or act a certain way – to be attractive or pretty or sophisticated in a way that is appealing to the people around you. You can’t just get by with cute little cheeks and a nice smile, and sometimes that pressure to fit the ideals of others can feel suffocating. You can’t just exist, you have to be everything for everyone all the time. And that’s exhausting, isn’t it?
It’s time we stop putting so much pressure on ourselves to fit society’s ideas of attractiveness and instead recognize that everyone has their own individual qualities that make them cute.
Have someone else take care of them
The biggest reason babies have an easy life is because there’s always someone else around to take care of them. As an adult, your responsibilities include making sure all your needs and wants are met at all times. You have to go to work to pay your bills, make decisions about your day-to-day routine, and (if you have a family) carve out the time and energy to take care of other people’s needs. Frankly, it’s a bit exhausting, and more often than not I wish there was someone else around willing to make my decisions for me.
It’s not that I don’t like having the free will adulthood has to offer – one benefit to being an adult is that, ultimately, your money and your life are your own. You can do almost anything you want to (within reason) and no one can tell you not to spend your money on silly things you don’t actually need. That said, I do wish there was a way to take a break every once in a while. Some decisions are fun – like deciding what you’re going to do on a weekend getaway with your friends – but honestly, I’m starting to get tired of making every decision in my life. Who knew picking out what you’re going to feed yourself three times a day would start to get annoying?
Be rewarded for every success
Going back to the previous “babies can be cute while doing absolutely nothing” train of thinking, babies are also rewarded and complimented for every single success. They stand up? A round of applause from everyone in the room. They’re able to clap their hands and touch their toes? It’s a party. That’s not to downplay the successes of babies and children – early childhood development is incredibly important and being able to achieve those milestones and be rewarded for them can have lifelong impacts on their physical, emotional, and social wellbeing.
That said: people don’t congratulate you quite as much when you’re an adult. Unless you do something absolutely life-changing (like graduating from school, starting a family, getting a promotion, etc.), everything is treated like just another achievement. But the things you do are a big deal, especially if the task was difficult or stressful and you worked hard to complete it. You should pat yourself on the back for any accomplishment you make, and as a society, we should remember to congratulate each other more (even for things that seem like minor successes).
Do you know of other things babies can do that adults can’t do (but secretly wish they could)? Tell us in the comments!
About Draven Jackson
Draven is an avid writer and reader who enjoys sharing her opinions on movies, books, and music with the rest of the world. She will soon be working as a teacher in Japan and hopes to use her experience to connect with other teachers and students around the globe. Draven spends most of her time at home with her family, her dogs, and her ferret.
To see more, view all posts by Draven Jackson here.
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