那天看到一位七岁小女孩，对“生命、爱、金钱和自由”有一套很独特的见解。
听完以后，我突然很好奇：
我们家这位八岁娃，会怎么排？
于是我决定试探一下。
我先假装给出自己的答案：
“如果让我排，生命（life）第一，
然后是金钱（money），
再然后是爱（love），
最后是自由（freedom）。”
话刚说完，他立刻皱起眉头，一脸认真地批评我：
“你怎么把钱放在爱前面呢？
只有贪婪的人才会把钱放在爱前面。”
我赶紧为自己辩护：
“也不是说一定要这样排。但你想想，
买奶粉要钱吧？
学费要钱吧？
生活用品也都要钱啊。”
我本来以为，这一通“现实逻辑”多少能说服他一点。
结果他非常淡定地回了一句：
“一岁可以不用上学啊。
大人也不需要那么多钱，
大人应该先给孩子足够的爱。”
好吧。
他的立场很坚定：
爱，一定要排在钱前面。
听到这里，其实我也没有再反驳。原来的我，也是这么想的。
现在的我换一个角度想，好像也确实如此：
有大爱的人，往往更容易承接更大的财富。
而没有爱的地方，再多的钱，也填不满。
那接下来，就剩一个问题了：
钱和自由，怎么排？
我问他。
他几乎没有思考，直接说：
“钱确实比自由更重要。”
我点点头：
“对，比如妈妈上班，其实就是用自由换钱。”
他接着分析：
“爸爸因为要赚钱，今年春假不能跟我们一起玩。”
停顿了一下，他又补了一句：
“这个春假肯定不好玩。”
我问他为什么。
他说：
“因为爸爸没有跟我们一起。”
那一刻，我其实是有点心疼的。
于是我赶紧说：
“积极一点，相信妈妈。
就算爸爸不在，妈妈也可以带你玩很多好玩的。”
他听完点了点头。
有时候跟孩子聊天真的很有意思。
他们的世界纯粹又简单：
爱，永远排在前面。
如果很多成年人都明白这个宇宙的真理，
也许这个世界就不会有那么多痛苦和伤害了。
这也是很多成年人穷尽一生都在学习的人生课题。
——
婷妈的亲子日常
创作于 2026.03.13
原创发布：tingtingma.com
写给孩子，也写给正在成长的大人。
未经授权，请勿转载。
Tingma’s Parent-Child Journal 211 | An Eight-Year-Old’s Life Priorities
The other day, I came across a seven-year-old girl who had a very unique perspective on “life, love, money, and freedom.”
After hearing her thoughts, I suddenly became curious:
How would my own eight-year-old rank them?
So I decided to test it out.
I started by pretending to share my own answer:
“If I had to rank them, I would put life first,
then money,
then love,
and finally freedom.”
As soon as I finished, he frowned and immediately criticized me with a serious expression:
“How can you put money before love?
Only greedy people would put money before love.”
I quickly defended myself:
“It’s not that it has to be this way. But think about it—
formula costs money, right?
tuition costs money, right?
daily necessities all cost money too.”
I thought this “real-world logic” might convince him at least a little.
But he calmly replied:
“You don’t need to go to school at one year old.
Adults don’t need that much money.
Adults should give children enough love first.”
Alright then.
His position was very clear:
Love must come before money.
At that point, I didn’t argue anymore. To be honest, I used to think the same way.
Now, looking at it from another perspective, it actually still makes sense:
People who carry great love are often more capable of holding greater wealth.
And in a place without love, no amount of money will ever feel like enough.
So that left one final question:
How do you rank money and freedom?
I asked him.
Without much thought, he answered:
“Money is indeed more important than freedom.”
I nodded:
“Right. For example, when Mommy goes to work, she’s actually trading freedom for money.”
He continued analyzing:
“Because Dad needs to make money, he can’t play with us during spring break this year.”
After a pause, he added:
“This spring break definitely won’t be fun.”
I asked him why.
He said:
“Because Dad won’t be with us.”
At that moment, my heart felt a little heavy.
So I quickly said:
“Be positive. Trust Mommy.
Even if Dad isn’t there, I can still take you to do lots of fun things.”
He nodded after hearing that.
Sometimes, talking with children is truly fascinating.
Their world is pure and simple:
Love always comes first.
If more adults understood this universal truth,
perhaps there would be far less pain and hurt in this world.
And this is a life lesson that many adults spend their entire lives trying to learn.
—
Tingma’s Parenting Diary
Written on March 13, 2026
Originally published on: tingtingma.com
Written for my child, and for every adult who is still growing.
Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.
Originally written in Chinese by the author.
This English version was translated with the assistance of ChatGPT.