Teach Tolerance

My son has issues and we are doing all we can to help him become the best he can be.  I worry at night about what his future will hold. I worry about what kind of an adult he will become.  One thing always makes me believe that he will be okay, his heart.  He has an amazing heart. He has compassion and empathy. He cares. He doesn’t litter, because he doesn’t want to hurt the earth or the animals that live on it.  If someone is crying he asks what is wrong. If someone drops something, he’ll stop and pick it up. If an animal is lost, he always wants to help.  He always has the spirit of giving and helping. He is a good person.

I look at other kids and I wonder sometimes if they are being taught values.  I try not to judge but with all the issues Tre has, he still does have morals and values.  I think some of the best lessons have been lost in time.

October is national bullying prevention month.  The more experience I have with bullying, the more I believe it starts at home.  Maybe a parent that doesn’t hesitate to make racial slurs about the neighbors who are too loud, or the family who moved in down the block that has two dads.  Maybe it is a big brother or sister that makes fun of the “Spaz” on the bus, the child who had tics he cannot control.  Perhaps Gramps says “Look at that slob” when he sees an overweight person. Regardless of where bullying starts, that seed, once planted, is hard to remove.  Like a weed that roots itself firmly in the ground, hatred, intolerance, and cruelty are no easier to remove.  PREVENTION is the key.  I do not believe that all parents want their children to be intolerant.  Yet, due to oblivious actions, their children are being predisposed.

                Many children, who are bullies, are bullied. The behavior is learned.  People used to say “Sticks and stones can break my bones but words will never hurt me”.  This is by far the worst lesson we can teach our children, in my opinion. Words hurt. Words leave scars.  Words linger in our mind, long after bruises heal, and blood dries.  

                There are some things that every child can learn from a young age.  Consider these your gift you are sharing with the next generation and hopefully generations to come…  

“Think before you speak…”

“If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”

“Treat others how you want to be treated.”

Every day lives are lost because of bullying, because of cruelty and hatred.  Teach your children that they never know what someone is going through. Something that seems like nothing big to one person may be very hurtful or unforgettable to another.  Teach them to reach out to others instead of shutting others out.  Most importantly, practice what you preach.  Hypocrisy teaches hollow lessons.  “What you do speaks so loudly that I can not hear what you say” (Ralph Waldo Emerson).