Learning from a 2 year old

One of the beautiful things about being a parent is when you see your kid develop their own personality and start to explore the world for themselves. My son and I are not very alike. Physically, he takes after my wife very strongly and he has more of her personality as well. I am fine with that as I am not much to look at and my wife has many great qualities.

One key area where my son and I are different is how social we are. My son is an extremely sociable and affectionate kid. At day care he has become a bit of a 'serial kisser'. That is when I pick him up, he goes up to random kids and gives them a hug and a kiss. Obviously, there is a huge difference in life stage and life experience (he hasn't had 33 years worth of cynical life experience) but he is a genuinely affectionate person who will hug and kiss anyone. As a parent this has been a bit of a challenge for me because I am not comfortable with open displays of affection as I did not grow up in an openly affectionate family. However, I have come to the conclusion that I should encourage this in him because it appears to be his natural personality coming through. In fact, I have come to celebrate the fact that my son is so wonderfully open and caring. I am even at the stage where I now recognise that my lack of openness is a deficiency within me. Learning life lessons from a 2 year old......... who would have thought.