Raising An Eight-Year-Old Boy With A Smile

My kid keeps me in stitches. I have never laughed so hard in my entire life as I have since I became a mom. This is why they are so awesome.

Eight-year-olds are like sponges for information. Sometimes you need someone around who will give you a billion random facts about bamboo sharks but who can’t find their own shoes. Imagine having a teeny tiny distracted genius living in your house who you have to drive everywhere. ADORABLE.

Unlike younger kids, eight-year-olds don’t need you at hand constantly. They are young enough to still want you to be involved in things but old enough that you don’t always have to. Three cheers for independent play! If you stop listening for half a minute though, you might come back to sentences that end with “and then the organs ended up everywhere!” Wait, what? Little boys are gross.

Eight-year-olds keep you humble. Eventually I will be embarrassing to him, but for now he’s sticking to embarrassing me. Like when I haven’t been to the spa lately—”I noticed you are trying to grow a moustache, Mom.” I feel like Eeyore, “Thanks for noticing.” (Admit it, you did the voice in your head.)

An eight-year-old’s vocabulary is ever expanding. They try to use their new words whenever possible. “Look, Mom, my glasses are NOCTURNAL.” Um, sort of. Good try!

Eight-year-olds are excellent salespeople. If I wanted to sell someone something, I would put an 8-year-old on the job. We were at the store the other day trying to buy toilet paper and he had some strong opinions. “But Mom, we have to take the kitten one home. How can you say no to that face?” I’m secretly glad my building has a two pet limit or we would be quickly overrun with adorable faces we can’t say no to.

8-year-olds love to share their excitement about new discoveries. Mine is currently trying to turn all of us into regular participants in meditation. He asks me to join him in his nightly practice and asks loudly, “ARE YOU AWARE OF YOUR FEET, MOMMY?” just to make sure I’m still paying attention and sticking with the program.

8-year-olds, while fanciful and imaginative, are at least somewhat aware of their limitations. Some of my friends started a hashtag #LiamForPresident and when I told him about it he said, “Mommy, that is a TERRIBLE idea.” I kind of agree. I mean, after all, he can’t even find his own shoes. You probably need to be able to find your own shoes if you are going to be president.

Whether he’s going to be president or not, I’m thankful for my 8-year-old, even if he thinks I need to meditate, buy more expensive toilet paper and go to the spa more often. I’m just glad he’s not nocturnal like his new glasses, because I really do love sleep.