Friday, January 19, 2018

Other people's children

My son is telling me about some nonsense that he has learned from his friends at school. This is how a lot of our conversation begin these days - him passing along information that he picked up from other children at school. It is because of those other children that he has questioned Santa Claus, he's learned some swear words and I've had to explain to him that almonds aren't poisonous.

Sigh. Other people's children.

I often think about all the grown-ups my son has in his life - he has 14 teachers in his school alone - and their capacity for patience, love and understanding. Those remarkable people spend their days surrounded by other people's children and care about them at an extraordinary level.

I question if I have that gene in me.

I like some children. And it is interesting to me the older I get where my designations are drawn. I wonder if that is a byproduct of being a parent or just my genes. But I know myself well enough to know that I don't have the wherewithal to spend my days filled with other people's children. For starters, I would be exhausted just trying to straighten out their passed-along "facts" for the real truth.

There is an interesting thought experiment written about here, asking if it would be possible to treat everyone with an equal amount of compassion. This would mean that your child would go without new clothes so that you could give that money to a homeless person and that other people's needs are just as important as your family's.

I understand the need to have compassion for others, but we are hard wired to put our children above others for a reason. My son knows that he is special to me for so many reasons that are not applicable to any other child on this earth.

So...yeah. Love your children. Be kind to other children. Sort through the nonsense when you need to.

What is the strangest thing your child learned from another child? Tell me in the comments.

No comments:

Post a Comment