A few months ago while my kids and I were at the dentist for their cleaning we saw a sweet little girl in a wheelchair. In my son’s eyes, she looked very different than anyone he knew or had seen personally. He made a brief comment about her to me and I quickly shushed him so she wouldn’t over hear.
Like most lessons we teach our kids, we have to wait for them to appear. This was one I grabbed ahold of quickly on the way home to explain to him that although I knew he didn’t intend to be mean (he was shocked that I would insinuate anything else — he genuinely was not being hurtful) that the little girl may have felt sad anyway.
One of the most classic and useful lessons in this life is “not to judge a book by its cover” and to “treat people how we want to be treated.” It can be difficult though to teach them to our young kids. One of my favorite ways of reiterating these points is through a) great examples and b) role playing.
One of my most favorite movies of all time is coming out soon in live action. Beauty and The Beast teaches being kind even in the most difficult situations and that you never know what greatness can come from giving people the benefit of an open mind.
We recently received a few new toys to play with and use to have a simple conversation. The great thing about this, is all it takes is you to sit down with your kids and their toys and start chatting!
Some examples of conversation starters are:
- What would you say to someone you just met that seemed different than you?
- How do you think you would feel if someone said_______?
- Give them options of kind things to say or nice gestures and have them act it out.
We are over the moon excited about the new film coming to theaters and as a mom, I’m delighted to have another wonderful example of goodness to share with my kids. The more we can show them empathy, kindness and open-mindedness, the better off we will all be.
Which of Belle’s characteristics do you think is most empowering to young girls?
GIVEAWAY- enter to win. SWEEPSTAKES LINK
□ Grand Prize: $500 Fandango Gift Card to see Disney’s new live action film, Beauty and the Beast and a $500 Toys”R”Us Giftcard
□ Weekly Product Prizes – 4 items in total to raffle off during the Sweepstakes.
Plus, don’t miss the Toys”R”Us In-Store Event: Visit your local Toys”R”Us to Celebrate this Timeless Tale. Build a Beauty and the Beast Lego item and more on March 25,2017 12 – 2pm. Check your local store for details.
Liz is a just a mom trying to keep it real about how little she sleeps, how often she gets puked on and how much she loves them. You can find her here every day writing about real-mom moments.
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