4 LIFE LESSONS I LEARNED FROM BARNEY™ THE DINOSAUR + A VERY SWEET GIVEAWAY

“You can always count on having a fun day, when you spend it with people you love”

 The “I love you” theme song to Barney and Friends is often stuck on an endless loop in my brain. I’m not going to lie, it’s not fun. But I recently sat down and watched a full episode of Barney and Friends with Grace and before the dreaded theme song begins, Barney proudly proclaims “You can always count on having a good day, when you spend it with people you love”. Here I was, sitting on my couch, being reminded of one of my biggest goals for 2018: make time for those you love. I realised that while many (read: all) parents find Barney a little annoying, he teaches our children some pretty valuable life lessons. If we’re open to it, we might just learn something as well.

THE 4 IMPORTANT LIFE LESSONS I LEARNED FROM BARNEY THE DINOSAUR:

Don’t forget your manners

If the simple lessons are lacking, complex concepts don’t fall into place. As adults we can often get so dragged down by our daily stress and schedules that we forget basic manners, like saying please and thank you. We forget to say these things to other adults, but most importantly, we can sometimes forget to say these things to our children. How can we ever expect them to treat others with respect and kindness, when we forget to treat them with it?

Never lose your imagination

If we stop imagining, we stop growing. The entire concept for the Barney and Friends show is centered on children imaging a world where this talking, purple dinosaur visits them. As children, all we did was imagine, as adults we forget that we can do what we imagine is possible.

Take responsibility for your life

If you make a mess, clean it up. In order to raise children who are accountable adults, they need to be raised by accountable adults. They need to hear their parents apologizing to each other. They need to hear their parents taking responsibility for the hard stuff. As parents we should never forget that our job is to teach our children how to be good, kind people and the best and easiest way to do that, is to just be a good, kind person.

Don’t be afraid to let someone know what they mean to you

The dreaded “I love you” song ends off with “won’t you say you love me too?”. It’s a slightly desperate little plea and whenever I hear it, I feel a little cringe of sadness. But it is an apt reminder that we can’t assume that the people we love know that we love them and cherish them. You need to say it. You need to say it often. Especially, if like me, you struggle with affection.

In the spirit of celebrating my favourite purple friend, I would like to offer one of my readers the chance to win a singing Barney plushie. In addition to being very cute, it also sings when you give it a hug.

All you have to do to enter is:

1. Share the competition Facebook post
2. Comment the age of your toddler on this article and tag 2 friends on the Facebook post or the Instagram post. 

The competition rules:

1. The competition closes on the 12^th of March 2018
2. All decisions are final
3. If the selected winner has not claimed the prize within 24 hours, a new winner will be drawn
4. This Competition is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook. You are providing your information to www.wearethehumans.co.za and not to Facebook. The information you provide will be used for this competition only.

Before I end off, I just want to give you guys a little heads up, the Barney and Friends website has a treasure trove of fun and educational printables that you can download and print for your toddler. Check them out over here. 

Good luck! I can’t wait to read your comments.

Nikki

Xxx

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