Sempi (my 6yo son) and I have this tradition of sharing our problems and asking each other’s opinion on how to solve it. We do this while we walk to his school. We’ve been doing this since he was 3. Here’s an example from Portland.
Me: When I bike to work, I have to wait a long time for the elevator.
Sempi (3yo): You should just build a ramp to your 28th floor, so you can just bike all the way up.
Me: Alrighty then.
Back to present day, I was discussing a problem with him about my work.
Me: I have this big presentation coming up and I’m nervous.
Sempi: Why?
Me: There’s going to be VPs and an Executive attending this presentation. So I’m anxious about it.
(Sempi thinks for a while)
Sempi: There is a fire pole at the playground and I get nervous about going down that pole. What helps me is, I don’t think about it, I just do it. So you should do the same. Don’t think about it, just do it.
Me: Whoa! You know that’s actually pretty good advice.
I’m happy to report that I took his advice and I kicked butt.