ok, here's an assignment

cameragirl21 wrote: for all who are interested. All you need for this assignment is a child who can talk...in sentences. In other words, a child who can express his/her thoughts and ideas well in words.
Ask yourself what you feel one needs to be happy (not just for the moment or for the day but in general in life). Then ask your child the same question. Please come back here to record the answers. I'm very curious to hear them....
Btw, let your child answer first, don't tell him/her what you think till after s/he has answered the question.
I hope people will want to participate, I think the answers could be fun and am curious what the kids think.

PrairieMom replied: Ben : "I like to get what ever I want when I ask for it nicely. I toy like I like to get at a store."

Al: "Ally"

What I need to be happy:

To be home, with my family. That will take a lot of little things, but the large thing in general is to be with my family.

luvmykids replied: Colt said "Seeing my friends and the other people I love and riding horses and spaghetti and meatballs."

Kylie said "A good family and lipgloss"

Macie didn't really get the question but she said "Your own bed feels good at the end of the day."

eta: It doesn't take much for me to be happy, I can do without just about anything as long as I have my family.

cameragirl21 replied:
omg, Monica, I nearly choked on my lunch reading that one. LOL, that Kylie, just wait till she's a teenager...I almost feel sorry for you, and she's beautiful too, boy, you're in trouble.

Our Lil' Family replied: Keep in mind, he's 3, but I was pretty happy with his answers:

Me:"What makes you happy?"
Thomas: "I don't know."
Me: "Think about it, what makes you happy?"
Thomas: "You..........and Daddy."

My2Beauties replied: This is too cute, I can't wait to pick up the girls from daycare and ask Hanna. I'll ask AUbrey too just for quirks but she'll probably say bye-bye and wave

Boo&BugsMom replied: Tanner..."chocolate (that's my boy ), computers, waterslides, pools, and nacho chips...um....oh yeah, and mommy (gee thanks )".

Allison...(the little girl I watch)..."smores, cotton candy, Frosty (her cat), Tinkerbell, and mommy".

Me...as long as I have my family and my faith, I'm happy.

luvmykids replied:
Oh it's already so bad, I don't know if I'll make it to her teen years much less through them

Danalana replied: I asked my nephew, Keenan...he's 8.

Me: "What do you need to be happy?"
Keenan: "Jesus...Mama and Daddy...Sampson (his dog)...Ben 10...WEC (World Extreme Cagefighting--he LOVES Uriah Faber)...my dirtbike...the river...and POPSICLES!"

kit_kats_mom replied: Lauren: nuthin (this is because someone would not take a nap today Grrr)
Katherine: love, hugs and kisses, warm fuzzies and sharing.

My3LilMonkeys replied: Brooke - Blankie and some potato chips

Madison - puppy, the kitty cats, and mommy and daddy and Brookeabee and Peanut (the baby ) and then some blueberries please.

Can you tell it's snack time at our house?

DVFlyer replied: Cameragirl,

You've started some interesting polls and posts. Are you a psychology student or psychologist?

cameragirl21 replied:
LOL, DVFlyer, you've figured me out!
I have an advanced degree in psychology but I'm no longer in the business, I'm now a photographer, specializing in photography of children, hence the name cameragirl....

kimberley replied: Kaleigh - 2 1/2 yrs old
froot loops

Jade - almost 5 yrs old
to have a good family that we love

James - 10yrs old
to have a loving family and food

Jacob - 11 1/2 yrs old
to have a good house, big backyard and parents that don't work 24/7

eta: what i need to be happy is to have my family happy, healthy and drama-free. Jacob's answer hits hard. I wish I was able to give them more.

TANNER'S MOM replied: I asked Tanner who is 10. He said what brought that up?

Then he said Crystal, who was the horse who died. I said just Crystal? He said No, I need love. I said love from? Who anyone who wants to give it!

The Crystal thing bothered me too, b/c it's one thing I sure can't give him. I wanted to say have you NOT been happy? But he is 10 and I think I will broach the subject later, so it doesn't follow that question.

For me to be happy, I don't need much. I need my family happy and healthy. A smile on my children's faces and the bills paid. I could say that I nothing else matters but truthfully when my bills aren't paid I am not happy. I don't need extravagant things, just the bills paid and food on the trouble.

Maddie&EthansMom replied: Maddie (age 8) says: "Having friends, living in a neighborhood and having a family."

Ethan (age 4) says: "Not being mean and playing outside." Then he wanted to add that his friends make him happy (b/c that's what Maddie said."

The unconditional love that I receive from God, my husband, my kids and my family makes me happy.

5littleladies replied: Madeline (10)-Happiness, support, love, family, friends. Not "everything you want".

Megan (8)-Food. (She's always hungry)

Brianna (5)-"If they color by themselves".

Alyssa (2)-"Dis" (as she holds up a crayon).

I don't need a lot to make me happy. I want my family to be happy and healthy, to have food in the house, and the bills to be paid. And I don't mind a brownie now and then.

jcc64 replied: Alec (15): "Friends, Money, Freedom." Is he a teenager or what?!

Noah (12): "Food, Shelter, Family."

Corey (5): "To live with my family in Hawaii." Where the Hawaii part came from, I haven't a clue.

Me (43): "Hope." Everything else spins out of that for me.

stella6979 replied: Well Avery is 2 and when I just asked her she said she needs "teeth" to be happy. LOL! She knows when you smile you show your teeth so I'm guessing that's where that came from.
As for me, I am the same as Mel.

Celestrina replied: Ben (5): A Hulk toy!

Me: That DH finds a stable job he likes. He has worked for banks in the car loan division for the past 20 years. Every time he gets settled in, they get taken over by another bank. There are rumors that his current bank is going to be bought out. If that happens in the next five years he'll lose his pension!

DillsMommy replied: Dylan (6): "anything, just everything" Then he just started naming stuff like "clouds, the earth, my swingset" lol.

Me: Just to see my kids happy. Laughing, playing, interacting with each other, makes me incredibly happy.

grapfruit replied: Jennifer, this is an amazing thread

I will ask Meg tomorrow when I see her

cameragirl21 replied:
I'm really glad you like it and others seem to. If you guys like this then I'll come up with a new question to ask the kids on a regular basis until I run out...it's kind of fun to get into kids' minds and see how they think.

DillsMommy replied:
Yes, I was going to ask you if we could do some more. I love to hear children answer questions like that.

A&A'smommy replied: wow I haven't seen this thread I'm going to ask Alyssa when she gets up

danahas4monkeys replied: Andrew (4) says : baseball, his new kitten, when you have to potty and nobody is in there lol (can you tell he has a big family) and gatorade

Me: knowing my family is happy makes me happy

sparkys2boys replied: Awesome thread Jen!

Logan 9 said.. to have mame (his grandmother who passed away in Oct) back for one more day to tell her I love her and then family, friends and love in the whole world.

Now this all broke my heart and it was everything I could do not to bawl in front of him. I know he misses mame terribly and has never dealt with it yet. And love in the world was pretty profound for a 9 year old boy


Cameron 6 said... mommy, daddy, Logan, and all of the family, to see mame as an angel to tell her he loves her alot the cat and his toys..lol.. what a wide range from him

DVFlyer replied:
HA!

Your cover is blown.

PM'd you.

Brias3 replied: Ryan (turning 10 in two weeks): Well, that's hard to answer. I think family, a few good friends, my school even though its nice to have summer off we get to go back, and then of course enough food and a nice house to live in. Wait, God too of course. He makes us pretty happy I'd say. (after this answer, he added, "Mom, where'd you get this idea anyway? Are you doing a report or something?" )

Aliyah (age 7): Mom, Dad, Ry and Mason, Nana and Papa, my house, all my art stuff cause it makes me happy to draw things, cooking, and having my friends everywhere, even Belgium.

Mason (age 4): My toys, but especially my ones in Florida, my mom and dad and brother and sister and everyone in a whole family and then Spiderman and bugs and fruit snacks, but not Dora ones.

Me: My happiness comes from being content with my life and truly being grateful for the things in it. Food and a home, the ability to travel, our material things- all of that is either necessary or nice of course, but I think my family and that sense of "inner peace" with exactly who and what I am brings me more happiness than anything. Basically, as long as I have my husband and children, even if all that other stuff goes away, I'll still truly have it all.