While they are still young

My son started in a new school this year and after school he goes to the day care programme.

On his first day when fetching him after school, I couldn’t help but notice a little bit of sadness in his eyes. I then asked how school was, his eyes smiled and said he enjoyed himself. I then asked about aftercare, the sadness then returned. In a breaking voice, he murmured, “well my friend from class left, all the other kids did not want to play with me, they said, I’m too much”.

My son has a bubbly personality for days, he is what you would label as a,”happy child”. In this moment I realised that I could ask him to tone down his personality so he can be acceptable to those kids, or I could teach him a lesson that I wish I had learned much earlier in life.

So I chose the latter. I responded to him and said, “Son do not cry. It is fine and it will be fine. Today was just the the first day, tomorrow someone will want to play with you. I ask that you do not force yourself upon people who do not want to play with you, walk away. Respect their space. If you find yourself without a friend to play with, then go to the reading section and get a book and read and you will enjoy yourself there too and discover amazing things. When someone wants to play with you then show kindness and play with them”

At this he smiled and said, “ok mom” The following day was a bit better, he played but he also read. He realised that he could choose what he wanted.

It all starts now, when they are still young to teach them to see another perspective in all situations and find joy in other things. It starts now, to teach them that they are enough and never too much and that those who want to associate with them, will always make a way to do so.