Yesterday, wasPink Shirt Day in Canada. It started four years ago when a new student at a school was being harassed and bullied. In support for him, 2 boysbought a bag of 50 pink shirts, handed them out to other kids and effectively stopped the bullying. Now, pink shirts are worn all over the country with messages like Bullying Stops Here, Respect Each Other and Acceptance for Differences. Kids are teaching an important message to each other and to adults. We can help our very young kidlets learn this lesson, too.
Today, at some point with your little one, you can point out a child who shares something the same as your child. For instance, “Look, I see a little boy about the same size as you are,” or “That little girl is pushing the buggy just like you do.” After noticing some things that are the same, help your child see that some things can be different, too. An example is “I see a girl with brown hair. Do you have brown hair?” Another idea is “That little boy is sleeping in his stroller. Are you sleeping?” For older children, you may be able to discuss similarities and differences with questions such as: Does your friend like to play the same games as you do? or Did everybody have the same snack today? Simply noticing that somethings about people are the same and some are different helps children develop awareness of others. Children learn from our example of accepting differences. This helps for social-emotional development and for kindergarten readiness. Who knew pink shirts could have such a powerful message?