We hear so often about kids behaving badly. But we don’t always hear about the everyday kindness that kids display, and so I wanted to highlight this story (shared with permission) from a local mom named Olivia Corso, who posted it on her blog. There is a lot of good out there, and I think when we can stop to see that, we’re all better for it.
Here is the story:
Bringing my child to a bounce house place where the parents are not allowed in with their children can be nerve racking. Especially having a super tiny 25 lb 3.5 year old with special needs.
We were at Monkey Joe’s today for our buddy’s 5th birthday party. Monkey Joe’s is an indoor bounce house place where children up to the age of 12 can bounce and have fun. It is pretty much a zoo and some parents’ worst nightmare, but kids love it and it is a super fun place for them to go wild.
There we were (my husband and I) hovering around the bounce houses watching our little girl – making sure she was being safe and also making sure that no bigger kids were rough housing or being mean to her. Then all of a sudden, we couldn’t see our baby anymore.
Patiently, we waited to see her come out of the bounce house, and she did, but not alone. There she was sliding down the exit with not one new friend, but 5 new friends. These 5 little girls (about 8 or 9 years old) came out with my daughter all surrounding her and holding her hands. They were being extremely patient and caring to make sure she took her time exiting the bounce houses, watching after her to make sure she did not get hurt.
I stood there in awe with my husband. What happened while she was in there that we missed? I would have loved to have seen that interaction that led to them all becoming friends with my daughter.
My daughter ran out of the bounce house and these 5 girls were following her the whole time. They were helping her climb in and out of all the bounce houses and helping her go down the slides. One girl named Hazel would go down the slide and then hold her arms out while another would slide down with my daughter in their lap.
I watched from a distance while these amazing little girls were helping and loving my daughter that they just met who is so much younger than them. They spent the whole time at Monkey Joe’s playing with my daughter and helping her through the obstacles of the bounce houses.
I don’t think these little girls will ever know what that did for me. That gave me such a boost of confidence in the world that we live in today. Their kindness made me see that my daughter will not have an issue making friends as she gets older and words cannot express my gratitude towards them for showing such kindness.
My daughter ran around with these older girls like she was the coolest thing since sliced bread and it was amazing to watch. Her smile was so big her face must have hurt.
I did not get a chance to see who the parents of these kind girls were, but I would love for this to be shared so maybe it will reach them so that I can say, thank you.
Thank you for raising such kind, and caring children that did not see a difference in my daughter, age or disability. These 5 girls were all friends who came to Monkey Joe’s together to play with one another and all gravitated towards playing with my 3.5 year old daughter with Down Syndrome.
I always have this fear that my daughter will get made fun of and bullied for being different. But today when I had fears of negative behavior towards my little girl I witnessed kindness and inclusion.
The gift that your little girls gave me today – I can’t even describe what that meant to me. I will remember this day forever. Whoever these girls’ parents are, you should be extremely proud of your parenting because all 5 of those little girls are growing up to be kind, very polite and inclusive. Thank you!
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