Yesterday while I was walking back home from dropping my daughter off to school I saw a mom running with her toddler across our parking lot. She was in a hurry I guess to make sure her son gets to school on time. I had never seen her before but I have seen the little boy. He is usually with his younger brother, his grandmother and his father. I was kind of surprised that I didn’t see his dad and his younger brother. When I got closer to home I noticed the stroller first and then I saw his dad pushing the stroller with his younger brother. They were looking for the mom and the toddler, I guess you are wondering what does this has to do with teaching children how to love, well it has a lot to do with it because it inspired this post. What I heard next almost stopped me in my tracks. I couldn’t believe that this father would say this to his young child but he did. He must have been upset that she left them behind so he looks at the boy in the stroller and says “Uggh she left us, I HATE YOUR MOTHER, I WISH SHE WAS DEAD!” and he stormed off in the direction of the school. I was so shocked.
Hearing him talk to his son like that prompted me to write this post. As a married mom I am always mindful of what I say around my children. While I don’t know what happens in their home everyday I do know that in that 10 seconds he sent a horrible message to his child. No matter how upset we get we must try our best to hide or tone down that anger. Children are sponges and they are products of their environments when we spread messages of hate or intolerance they see it and they sometimes copy it. As parents we are the first to show children what is love and how to love others. We should encourage kindness and speak kindly of others and if we must express dislike for someone it is better to find a nicer way to say your are upset with someone or you just don’t agree with them. This is why I love my husband because he always talked about showing his sons how to love and his daughter how to be loved by loving me his wife and their mother. I know it can be hard at time and sometimes we get so upset we slip and when we slip we say we apologize and we shouldn’t have said that about the other person. Even now I am horrified thinking that he said that to his child and also right in front of me, a total stranger. I do hope I was just a witness to a very horrible morning and not a normal occurrence.
How do you teach your children how to love? Do you encourage them to be kind and speak kindly of others even if they disagree?
Nickida
Nickida is a first-generation Trinidadian American wife and mother of four. She enjoys sharing recipes from her childhood growing up in Trinidad with her readers. Nickida has a son with Autism and shares posts around traveling with a child with special needs to help other families like her own. She loves television, movies and is a true 80's baby.
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