Little People...

[csdax]

My 5 year old was very excited the other day, in a store.

"Mummy! I just saw someone over there that was only about as tall as me but it was an adult! She was so tiny. It's just like in that book you were telling me about yesterday. Hobbits DO really exist!"



Obviously, we had a chat about Little People after that! If I hadn't had a grumpy toddler with me too, I would have caught up with the lady to chat for a minute, so Jadzia could see that little people are just like regular sized people, only smaller.

I have to admit - part of me just wanted to roll on the floor, laughing!

 

[akmom]

I have come to believe that it is impossible to prepare children for all the differences they will encounter in the world. I remember when I was young, my family attended a small church that just happened to be all white (as far as I can remember). That was pretty typical in most of the areas we lived back then. A guest speaker, who happened to be black, was preaching one day, and my preschool-age little brother stood up and loudly declared, "Look Dad, he's black! He really is!" It conjured some chuckles, but was obviously awkward, and I'll never forget my parents trying to play down the observation to my brother while trying to be quiet. So... I got my daughter dolls of various races, in hopes that racial differences would not appear so different to her.

But she made a similar scene the first time she saw a person in a wheel chair and the first time she saw an obese individual, and course it is such a battle to quiet them when they are bursting with curiosity, and have no idea that pointing out certain differences can be hurtful. I suppose little people would be another example!

 

[Mom2all]

I tried hard to make sure the kids had dolls with glasses and freckles.. we invited children with disabilities over to become friends with and talked a lot about everyone having a different packages but being the same on the inside. I forgot about little people too because you don't often see that and sometimes its easy to forget whats not in front of you.

One of my proudest Mom moments I have to share...

I told my kids it was their duty to protect those who couldn't protect themselves. Spiderman was our model..."with great power comes great responsibility". Who wouldn't want to consider them self a super hero after all?

So.. I hear a commotion outside one day. My oldest, Jess and Adam, were 7 & 8. I ran out the door to find them standing up to the neighborhood bullies holding hands in front of a child who had a learning disability, was rather unkempt and often found herself the target of some mean children. My daughter, ( who is a chicken by nature), was screaming.. " You mess with her you mess with us!" I don't think I'd ever been as proud!

 

[jack123]

We all have had our parents embarrassed about such situations where we point out the different things we see and are so vocal about that in public. All children do this, it is important for us to explain to them what these differences are when they see it. We need to explain to them if people are different, they do not have to be treated differently. Thats our duty to put the right things in out childs mind.

 

[csdax]

There's a lady we hang out with who is blind. I met her on a parenting forum, and I asked if we could get together for a playdate. I told her straight out that it was partly because she was blind, because I felt it was important to give my children the opportunity to meet people with disabilities, people who are 'different' etc., so that they are accepting of all differences. She wasn't at all offended by this, and we get together regularly. It's funny to have to keep reminding my kids that Elaine can't understand nods or pointing (just like Grandma, on the phone!)

But when my children do, inevitably, embarrass me by commenting on a difference, I've often approached the person involved and apologized and got chatting with them. There was a time in the swimming pool changing room when Jadzia was 3 and asked about a woman who had been born with birth defects due to Thalidomide. I approached the lady and asked her for advice on how to explain this to my daughter. My main motivation was simply to get chatting with her so that I could learn more and so my daughter could realize that this lady was just like everyone else. We had a very interesting discussion.

When we were in Disney World, Jadzia also asked about why a man sitting in front of us had metal legs. He turned around and said "Would you like to see?" He took one off and showed it to her!