OLD TOYS NEW AGAIN

By Mohan Karulkar: When our son was still a baby, in a bit of wishful thinking, we use to buy him all kinds of advanced toys outside his age range. He'd either be totally disinterested, or frustrated at not being able to make it "go." There was a truck that made noise, but required way more strength than he had to turn on. And an activity table that he could barely use ... because he could barely stand. Puzzles, paints, games ... all kinds of stuff. Eventually we'd take the difficult toys away and save them for later, but we wondered if maybe he wouldn't want them later, because he'd already been frustrated with them the first time around.

Were we robbing him of future experiences by exposing him to them too early?

It turns out we weren't. He's recently starting playing with that truck again, and he loves turning it on and driving it around. Once he could stand, that activity table was his best friend for almost a year. At the end of the day, it's almost like the first round of frustration never even happened.

Kid's have such an awesome ability to bounce back, and my own son is such an inspiration for me. Whether it's the fresh start I get as a dad every morning, or his ability to look at a toy with fresh eyes every time he sees it, I see so much in my son that I want to see more of in myself.

Let's commit -- today -- to continue developing a child's heart when it comes to life and second chances:

1. Revisit something you gave up on in the past: a hobby, a project, maybe even a relationship. 2. Identify something that's frustrating you right now, and should be shelved for awhile. 3. Share your answers below, and commit to becoming more childlike every day :)

Are you with me?