A few months ago I was walking down my apartment hallway. My neighbor's door was open and her little girl was in the hallway. As I am walking down the hallway I hear the little girl say "Mommy, why does that girl walk funny" (not the first time this has happened. Majority of the time parents love to say "Shhhhh! That's rude. Don't say that!"). But instead of the typical response I usually hear the mom had a beautiful reaction. She said, "Well honey, why don't you come inside and we can talk about it. You see sometimes people are born differently...". I didn't hear the rest of the response because I didn't want to creep but I wanted to yell Thank you! Thank you for not sweeping it under the rug and teaching your young ones that it is okay to just ignore us disabled individuals and it is not okay to ask questions.
This mom had the right response. She took it as an opportunity to teach her daughter that there are different individuals out there and we may not look the same or walk the same but we are human. We all deserve a chance to be loved for who we are.
Fast forward to a few days ago that same girl was in the hallway waiting for her mom to leave. I hear her say "mom theres that girl!". The mom whispered "say hi when she comes up to you". As I got closer to the girl she goes "Hi!! What are you doing?" (I was carrying grocery bags). I responded "Hello! Just carry my groceries" and kept walking because my one bag was about to break. As a pass I hear the little girl say "Mom she said hi back!" to which the mom said "See I told you she was a nice person".
Like cue the tears. This momma just taught her daughter a very important lesson. To be kind and treat people who are different with respect and love. That is okay to ask questions and learn. I think so many times I see that mistake. If you talk to any disabled individual I am 99% sure they would agree with me that they would much rather have people come and ask questions then just stare and be quiet. Asking questions is a good thing because it makes people learn. If you don't ask questions you just assume and we all know what that means ;). So kudos to you neighbor for having a hard but real conversation with your daughter and for teaching her we are all born differently but that is okay and it is a good thing!
This mom had the right response. She took it as an opportunity to teach her daughter that there are different individuals out there and we may not look the same or walk the same but we are human. We all deserve a chance to be loved for who we are.
Fast forward to a few days ago that same girl was in the hallway waiting for her mom to leave. I hear her say "mom theres that girl!". The mom whispered "say hi when she comes up to you". As I got closer to the girl she goes "Hi!! What are you doing?" (I was carrying grocery bags). I responded "Hello! Just carry my groceries" and kept walking because my one bag was about to break. As a pass I hear the little girl say "Mom she said hi back!" to which the mom said "See I told you she was a nice person".
Like cue the tears. This momma just taught her daughter a very important lesson. To be kind and treat people who are different with respect and love. That is okay to ask questions and learn. I think so many times I see that mistake. If you talk to any disabled individual I am 99% sure they would agree with me that they would much rather have people come and ask questions then just stare and be quiet. Asking questions is a good thing because it makes people learn. If you don't ask questions you just assume and we all know what that means ;). So kudos to you neighbor for having a hard but real conversation with your daughter and for teaching her we are all born differently but that is okay and it is a good thing!
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