Skip to main content

It's not hard.



Don’t be mean.

The world is a scary place that is made up of millions of different personalities and beliefs.  Being a mom, I now realize just how difficult it is to grow up in this demented world.  I know I cannot fix the deficit, world hunger or global warming.  I can however take every fiber of my being to teach my kid not to be mean.  Will it work?  Hell if I know.  But it’s worth a try. 

Take a look around, turn on the news, listen to the radio.  Every other headline is about a bullied kid.  A hate crime.  A mindless shooting.  This is the world our kids are growing up in.  We cannot deny this.   Kids are making You Tube videos crying about how much they are bullied and hated.  How they don’t fit in.  How no one loves them.  This is unacceptable and has to stop.  As a society, we have to change this.  Things will only get worse.  Kids are innocent.  They aren’t born with hate in their bodies and minds.  They don’t understand race, sexual preference, or social status.  They don’t care.  Neither should we.  We need to teach our kids to love.  Love their family.  Love their friends.  Love everyone.   Because in this world, there is enough hate.

It starts innocent.  Making fun of the way a kid dresses.  Their hair.  Their favorite color.  At just 5 years old my son was made fun of for the way he pronounced some words.  Thankfully he didn’t really understand that he was being made fun of, but I understood and was hurt.  Hurt that I couldn’t prevent it.  Hurt that I couldn’t fix it.  I was lucky enough that the parents of the children took it seriously and apologized to both my son and I.  There needs to be more people like that in this world.  People who take their kids actions seriously.  If nothing else, I over react.  I don’t think ‘my child can do no wrong’.  My kids aren’t perfect, neither am I.  Kids learn from what they see every day.   With that said, I want my kids to have compassion.  To understand that not everyone is the same.  That kindness comes from within.  Not everyone has money.  Not everyone lives in a big house.  Not everyone comes from a loving home.  But they need to be loved and treated equally.  Because they are not different.  Our kids need to understand there are things they won’t have.  It doesn’t change who they are and shouldn’t change their view of someone else.  What you have will never be as important as who you are. 

Now. 

Now is the time to teach.

Now is the time to love. 

Now is the time to set an example. 

Our kids are always watching.  Hug them tight every single night and tell them how much you love them.  Tell them how much you care.  Tell them how proud they make you.  It doesn’t matter how your day was.  It doesn’t matter how many times you had to tell them to clean up their room.  What matters is always reminding them that you are their biggest fan.  Constantly instilling faith and humanity into their big hearts.  Teaching them to be fair, honest, and loving.  This won’t come from tv and doesn’t have to come in the form of religion.  It has to come from you.  After all, that is your job, as a parent.  Let’s make it happen.  Not tomorrow, right now.

-h

Comments

Hilary Ann said…
Excellent. Absolutely excellent.

Popular posts from this blog

D'sheveled

D'sheveled.  Makes it seem French.  Like for all people know, in French it means D'sheveled: being in a state of glamour and wealth, a socialite.  In plain English it means: HOT MESS.  I used to have it together.  I mean like really together.  I knew when I had appointments that were 6 months out.  I knew my husbands social security number by heart, clipped coupons and knew where I stashed them, and could recite the address of everyone I knew.  Then, I gave birth.  Just like that, my memory (along with my nice boobs, patience, energy, ability to multi-task) went down the proverbial drain.  Gone, never to be seen again.  Now if you don't have time to read this because you have it all together, I won't take offense.  I mean, I probably won't call you my friend, but you won't know, because you didn't read this anyways.  For the rest of you, you know who you are, the ones sitting on the computer with the following windows opened: Pinterest, Facebook, People,

*Come Together*

I read an article recently on being a mom.  About how all moms are the same.  We are all incredibly blessed to have been given the chance to love another human so deeply it hurts.  There is nothing that can prepare you for being a mom.  The connection you feel towards your child.  It is unexpected, joyous, overwhelming.  Being a mother is the hardest job in the world.  It doesn't matter what kind of mom you are.  Whether you gave birth to your children, or you adopted.  Moms who have sick babies or healthy babies.  Moms who are pregnant with their first or moms who recently lost a baby.  Moms of children with differences.  Older moms and teenage moms.  Your status, your social standing, your religion.  None of it matters.  Moms are moms all across the world.  So why do we hate each other?  Shocked that I said that?  We all do it.  In different ways. I remember coming back to work from maternity leave.  I was bitter and resentful.  I didn't want to leave my baby with a strange