Princess of Whales Apr 21, 2023

Today when I was crossing the school grounds to go to work, there was a kindergartener standing on the playground right where he was supposed to be lining up, except that he had gotten on the playground a little earlier than he was supposed to - all alone on the playground and he’s sobbing silently, and I’m trying to figure out what’s going on and he finally sobs out “I don’t know why I’m here!”

Turns out that he simply hadn’t worked out that it would be okay if he just turned around and went back to the gate where all the other kids were. Once I suggested that we walk back over there, he was perfectly happy.

Show threadPrincess of Whales Apr 21, 2023
I have no patience for adults who think kids have it easy
Show threadStrange TimApr 21, 2023
@princesaballena One of the most important things I learned, when I was training to be a foster parent, was that when you think about it, and a child is acting like they are having the worst day they've ever had, they honestly probably are. Deal with the situation with compassion and empathy as they develop a sense of scale and context.
Show threadPrincess of Whales Apr 22, 2023
@geekyonion yes! This! It really doesn’t cost much to take a child’s feelings seriously
Show threadStrange Tim
@princesaballena This was one of the two things that changed my view of interacting with kids. The other was learning the question, "is your body hurt, or are your feelings hurt?" It seems simple, but in the middle of drama, just slowing things down to solve the right problem can be a game changer. I do that for work, and never thought to do it at home.
Apr 22, 2023 at 3:32pmWeb