Six year olds are smarter than we give them credit for. Hanging out with my own 6 year old has taught me that. This summer she has reminded me of some of the good things in life that we should all be doing more of.

1. There’s no such thing as too much sparkle!
When it comes to sparkle, my 6 year old can’t get enough. She likes to sparkle, sparkle and then add some more sparkle!

There’s so much darkness in the world at the moment, we need as much brightness as possible. So whether it be in our clothing, accessories, or personality – we should let that sparkle out! We should never dull our sparkle, instead let’s go out there and shine brightly.

2. Don’t wait for a special time to wear your fancy clothes
My 6 year wears whatever she feels like wearing on that day. Sometimes it will be leggings and a t-shirt and other days she will emerge from her bedroom wearing her sparkliest skirt, her best top and jewellery. Her clothes are one way of making her feel her best.

We can take a page out of her book when it comes to dressing. Sometimes, as materialistic as it sounds, if you love what you’re wearing and how you look, you can feel great and sometimes that’s half the battle won when going out there to take on the world!

3. Enjoy your own company
Just the other day I was trying to hang out with my 6 year old and she just turned to me and said, “Go away mum – I just want to play by myself.”

No malice was intended, she just wanted to spend some time with herself and do what made her happy.

I’ve never been good at hanging out by myself – I love being surrounded by people but sometimes it’s good to appreciate your own company. You don’t have to do anything extravagant, you can do whatever you like, whatever makes you happy in that moment.

4. Sometimes smiling through the pain helps
My 6 year old got her ears pierced recently. I asked her if it hurt her. She said it did a little but do you know what she did when it hurt and she wanted to cry? “I held onto the seat and just smiled, and then I didn’t need to cry.”

I know it’s not always as simple as that, but do you know what, sometimes it can be.

5. Don’t always be in a rush. Try being in the moment.
Life is so busy. We try to fit so many things in and it sometimes feels like everything is a blur in the rush to get from A to B.

On a walk to the park, I kept yelling at my six year old, “Hurry up. Let’s get there.” I got frustrated everytime she stopped to pick a daisy, or climb a step, or look through a fence to see what was on the other side. But then I saw the contentment (and sometimes wonder) on her face. It made me take stock of what was actually happening and remember that sometimes pure joy comes from the simplest things and being in the moment.

6. Laugh hard. Laugh often.
One of my favourite sounds in the world is laughter and one of my favourite things to do is laugh. I do this a lot with my six year old.

Audrey Hepburn once said, “I love people who make me laugh. I honestly think it’s the thing I like most, to laugh. It cures a multitude of ills.”