is there a difference between childish and child at heart?

Philippines
May 13, 2007 3:05am CST
my friends keep telling me that they are exaclt the same and there is no difference between them but there's something in my mond which tells me that they are different in one way or another(well, aside from the spelling). can you help me on this? i want to prove to them that they are different. any ideas?
2 people like this
4 responses
@vega83 (6342)
• Bahrain
13 May 07
of course they are two completely different things. You can tell your friends that. As Emmalee, put it so nicely, childish is immature behavior and a child at heart is having a sense of fun. I like to think I'm a child at heart. I like to try new things, and I'm excited like a child when I'm about to. I can take the fun in life, and instead of being a like a boring adult who don't think it's okay to act silly once in a while, I can enjoy and cherish every moment in my life. It's about taking the best quality of a child and of an adult and making a good person, that you can be. The reliability of an adult mixed with the sense of adventure and curiosity or a child. Being childish is completely different, that is being stubborn and unfortunately that is the one childish trait that most adults seem to incorporate in their lives. I'm thinking that most people think that if an adult likes to have fun and be silly and is adventurous then they take that behavior as childish, when it's not.
1 person likes this
@vega83 (6342)
• Bahrain
29 May 07
Well, at least you're up front about it, and that's pretty mature..
• Philippines
30 May 07
hey yeah, you are right. guess that was pretty mature of me, to admit straight out that im a brat. lolz. :) thanks for pointng that out. guess im more mature than i though. haha! :)
1 person likes this
• Philippines
25 May 07
hello there. thank you for the extensive discussion. :) lolz. well, i could say hat based on your definition, i am more of chiuldish than child like. i could be such a brat sometimes! :P lolz.
2 people like this
@roniroxas (10560)
• Philippines
30 May 07
yes there is a big difference between childish and child at heart. childish specially when you see it on matured people is sometimes annoying. seeing a 36 year old acting childish is not funny, but seeing a 36 years old playing with kids and who has a heart like a child is really fun. it makes you feel like you are young again.
@roniroxas (10560)
• Philippines
31 May 07
yes that is true. i have 4 kids they keep me young.... but i can fell im old when im exhausted playing with them. lol
• Philippines
1 Jun 07
oh really?! :) wow that must be really delightful to have. i am taking care of my three year old niece lately and i too, feel like i am a child again. lolz. :) she's like a bundle of energy running around the house. lolz. :) and when the end of the day comes, just like you, that's when i feel old, because my back pains are killing me. lolz. :P
• Philippines
31 May 07
yes, yes, i guess being a child at heart has its positive attributes compared to being childish which brings in more negative attributes. lolz. :) yeah, sometimes it would just be so nice if we could just run around like kids again and forget all our problems. lolz. :)
@susieq223 (3742)
• United States
30 May 07
I agree with the other responders. Being childish to me means acting like a child when one should be acting like an adult. Things like temper tamtrums, being self-centered, expecting everything and everyone to revolve around you as the center--all that is acting childish and immature. Child-at-heart or child-like, however, is to keep the child-like sense of wonder and adventure, playfulness (at appropriate times)innocence, trust--all the things we like about children. I think this is what Jesus meant when He said we much become like children to enter the kingdom of heaven!
1 person likes this
• Philippines
31 May 07
yeah, you are right. now that i think about it, i should become to be child-like rather than childish so that i can enter the kingdom of God. lolz. :) i have got to stop being abrat already. its not doing me any good. lolz.
@emmalee (24)
13 May 07
I would say childish has negative connotations. It's being immature and not being able to take serious things seriously. It's acting like a child in both good AND bad ways. However, child at heart is more like a person that is mature but has a sense of fun about them. A sense of wonder at new things, the ability to let go and act childish at an appropriate time. Does that make sense?
@vega83 (6342)
• Bahrain
13 May 07
That makes a lot of sense to me... I totally agree with that.
• Philippines
25 May 07
hello there. :) yes, you do make sense. :) well, guess what? based on your definition, i have realized one thing: i am childish. lolz. :P i am so immature sometimes, i tend to be a brat and be all whiny just so i can get what i want. :) lolz. :)
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