Mommy Proof #2

Mommy Proof #2: If your child suffers from any sort of injustice, you will feel it, breathe it, and consume it until justice is met.

My daughter comes home from school with a story about what evils the world bestowed upon her that day. It may be someone disliked her natural hair. It may be that someone hated her shoes. One day, someone didn't like her. Another day, her shirt wasn't the right color. Then, a girl told her that her mother was fat. (Don't worry. I didn't take it personal. After four kids, my self esteem will survive as long as I suck in my stomach while I walk past the fourth grade.)

Sometimes you wonder, what happened to empathy, compassion, acceptance, or tolerance? Sure there will be common childhood jinx, pranks, disagreements, or misunderstandings. But when my fourth grader came home and asked me if n-word meant black person, it made me think. Just what is school teaching our children? Another child that had some learning difficulties was dubbed as "dumb," "slow," or "stupid." The little girl, who wore pants that were too small due to economic issues that were out of her hands, was nicknamed "gay pants."

For a while, I didn't know what to do. I didn't know how to help. What do you say to a child that will toughen them up, but still leaves them to remain hopeful in the rest of humanity? I guess all we can do as parents is try to teach our children right from wrong. Help them to develop compassion in an cruel world. For now, I show her by example. As misguided as it may be, I pray that one day I do get my point across and she will find justice in an unjust world. Oh, yeah, and I tell her those other kids are just jealous.