Driving to pick K up after school yesterday was truly glorious. Windows open and the sun beating down on me through the sun roof–true glimpses of spring! I must have really booked it out of school myself because when I arrived, K and her class were still playing outside.
As I parked, I observed her in her natural habitat. I noticed her motioning to another little girl to follow her and they proceeded to run around and play together. It was so nice to see them all happy and playing and enjoying the gorgeous day.
When K was settling into her seat, I asked her about playing outside. The exchange that followed caused a range of emotions for me, shock, sadness, pride–you name it.
Basically, one little girl had been mean to another. Girl A pushed Girl B and told her to go away. This caused Girl A to have to “take a break” and Girl B to cry. In K’s words, “she cried a lot, Mommy.” After the teacher comforted Girl B, she called K over and asked her to play with Girl B. When I pulled up, that’s the little girl she was playing with on the playset. K proceeded to tell me that Girl A was not being very nice. I told her she was right and that we need to always be kind to others. We can play and include everyone and be friends with everyone, too. She agreed.
At this point, I turned to her and told her I was proud. Proud that she was kind to Girl B when she needed a friend. Proud that she was not a part of this exchange. Proud that she seems to understand what is nice and what is not nice. It’s crazy how this type of situation is already starting at three, but I’m also glad she was able to articulate it to me. It gave us a chance to have an important conversation and for me to reinforce what they are teaching her in school. It also gave me a chance to tell her how truly proud I am. I think she is starting to understand what that means because she lit up and could tell that I was happy with her.
Being a parent is hard and I’m sure it will only get harder, but one message I have for K will never change. Be kind always.
Oh, this breaks my heart that it is starting at 3. Lucky for them that they rarely hold a grudge at that age.
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I think it was really effective to wait to tell us the ages of the children until the next to last paragraph. That was a surprise.
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Yes! I was always surprised to see how early things pop up with our littles. Glad you’re passing on that message to be kind always!
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