My daughter is approaching the two-and-a-half mark, and I’m continually amazed at her vocabulary and insight. Evidence of this appeared recently when we were doing laundry together (meaning I was doing all the work while she sat on the dryer supervising). The washer was filling with water, and my daughter turned to me with obvious excitement as she said, “Look Mama, a waterfall!” Sure enough, the water pouring into the washing machine did look a bit like a waterfall.
It happened again a few days later as we were driving through downtown. We passed by the courthouse, which is a pretty old and neat looking building. My daughter squealed from the backseat and pointed, “Mama, look. A castle!” I could see how she made the assumption. Then, as we continued driving, we both started looking for “castles” and actually found quite a few.
Now, I’ve been doing laundry for far too many years to count, and I have never once gotten excited about the simple beauty of the cascading water. And I’ve been living in this city for a quarter of a century, and although I appreciate the beauty of my surroundings, I’ve never really considered the architecture worth note – especially as it relates to dragons, princesses, and royal gatherings.
I’m so grateful to have my daughter return my attention to these kinds of things. I’ve become so jaded with the day-to-day frustrations of being a freelancer and a parent that I forget to tap into the writer inside me. I think that truly great writing comes from a two-year-old viewpoint, where everything is fresh and new and full of metaphors.
I know that seeing natural wonders in household appliances isn’t going to improve my ability to write an SEO article on roofing materials, but I do think it’s important to remember the artistic side of being a writer. Sometimes it’s good to shed that polished, professional exterior to simply enjoy words and the world that allows us to use them.
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Christina Lemmey is the mother of two school-aged girls, a wife, and the owner of 
Thanks for sharing this. It’s so true – children have an ability to really see things.
A couple of years ago I took a class on writing, and we studied how to utilize metaphors in our writing. It was really hard for me.
My two-year-old niece, however, understood metaphor perfectly and naturally. I will never forget the night my niece looked out the window of my apartment and saw a sliver moon. She literally gasped and said, “There’s a diamond in your sky!”
I think children can teach us a lot about writing!
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Hi Tamara,
Keep listening to your 2 year old for insights on the world and writing! I am a speech-language expert and have a website, http://www.playonwords.com, filled with the magic of kids–lots of free articles, my blog, and toy and book reviews that promote educational toys to enhance language.
Sherry Artemenko
As a mom to a 9 year old and 15 year old…I have to say the things that come “out of the mouths of babes” still never ceases to amaze me. It’s the metaphors, and the thinking process that often still takes me by surprise. My daughter (15) has gone from asking me at two years old: “do flowers cry?” to wondering why there is such a crazy thing as “processed food” (”Why is it processed when the processing makes it so bad for you?”)…she’s now writing a a paper about it.
The things they say has also made me roll over laughing as well: My son once said at 5: “G movies are for kids, PG is for little older than me, PG13 is for teenagers…what’s R for?” I said: “Grownups, like mommy and daddy.” He then thought for a while, then said: “Is there anything more than that?” I hesitated for a moment, wondering where this was going…”Um, yes, there’s X,” a little wary about what I would have to explain. He than said: “I know who X movies are for! Grandmas and grandpas!”
Marcia.
It does seem to come so naturally from the children… but for myself I need to constantly challenge myself to cultivate this ability to see things from a different perspective. Seeing the fantastic in the everyday is an art and a gift.
Miguel de Cervantes sure knew how to do it: he was in his 50’s when he wrote Don Quixote, but clearly he retained the ability to see the world through such eyes… inns were castles, barmaids were regal damsels, herds of sheep were storming warriors, and windmills were monstrous giants.
And hang on to these days with your young one–they grow up at the speed of light!