Last night, I attended the very first meeting for my two youngest daughters’ troop. Most of the girls in the troop are in Kindergarten. This first meeting was more of a parents meeting (and the girls just played.)
The other moms and I began to share our daughters’ experiences with Kindergarten so far. For the most part, all of the girls are getting along fine in school. But, there were also stores of:
- boys and girls kissing on the playground (that’s one that my own daughter told me),
- clicks on the playground and mean girls
- kids not playing with each other because they are different and because they are not dressed “right”
This is nothing new…playground drama is as old as the playground itself. And it’s up to us, the parents, to ensure that our kids: 1. are confident with themselves and know that they are special, 2. appreciate differences in other people, and 3. know how to treat other people.
Here are 5 ways that I teach my kids to love themselves as well as others:
- Celebrate what makes them unique. All of my kids are special in their own ways. I try to remind them daily about what makes them so special. I want them to have a healthy dose of self-confidence, so that when someone says something “out of pocket” to them…it will just roll off of their shoulders.
- Teach them how to treat others.You have to be intentional about teaching your kids manners and how to respect other kids.
- Tell them that being mean will not be tolerated. Don’t get fooled into thinking that your little angel could not possibly be one of the mean kids on the playground. Let your kids know that there will be serious consequences if they are caught being mean.
- Keep the lines of communication open. I am all up in the playground drama. I ask my kids daily what’s going on at school and on the playground. Of course I get the universal answer at first: “Good.” But then I dig deeper until I get the details.
- Involve them in activities that reinforce these principles. Which is why they are a part of the troop.
The troop leader asked each parent what we hoped our girls would get out of participating. And it seems that all of the mothers had similar answers. We wanted our girls to:
- celebrate diversity and to know that it is okay to be different
- to form a sisterhood with the other girls in the troop
- to be of service to their community.
- to have a safe place to be themselves.
- to have fun, and
- to have a camping experience (minus actually sleeping outdoors….none of us wanted to do that….lol)
My oldest daughter was a member of a troop for 3 years, and I can attest to the fact that she had a true sisterhood with other girls in her troop. And, I really loved that fact that they were taught to love themselves, and others, and their community.
I am also loving Hallmark’s new line of products, SO SO Happy™. This is a line of cards, party supplies and gifts aimed at encouraging love, acceptance and positivity among kids. “Hallmark’s mission – to make the world a more caring place by helping people make meaningful connections with each other – aligns perfectly with SO SO Happy’s mission to promote positivity, build self-confidence and inspire acceptance,” said Claire January, senior licensing account executive at Hallmark. “We are excited to partner with SO SO Happy and offer products that will boost kids’ confidence when they head back to school, as well as on birthdays and any day of the year.”
BMWK – Please share with us how you “nip it in the bud” with your own kids. How do you teach your kids to embrace their individuality while respecting the individuality of others? How do you inspire self confidence in your kids?
Each new day provides you with an opportunity to have special moments with your family.
Disclosure: This post is part of a series about Back to School encouragement that is sponsored by Hallmark. All opinions and editorial content expressed are my own.