22/02/2023
It’s the elephant in the room 🐘...
Your child stares or points at someone with a physically apparent disability in public. 👀
🔴 You start to sweat.
🔴 You immediately try to divert their attention.
🔴 You act all “hush hush” to tell them to just “stop starting,” yet they have no idea why.
You clearly know that you need to have a conversation with them, but...
What do you say?
As a parent of two children with special needs, I’ve gotten used to the stares and comments.
But what I haven’t gotten used to, is the way that parents try to act like my child doesn’t exist.
The way parents often shush and pull their kids away from mine because they’re too scared their child may say something offensive.
Let your child be CURIOUS.
Let them ASK questions.
Show them to be KIND.
MODEL waving or saying “hello.”
Give the person with a disability a genuine COMPLIMENT.
Show your child to speak to the person just as they would anyone else. Children are sponges in moments like that. Make it count!
We are ALL different. All of our differences present themselves in different ways.
Once you are not in public...
Explain to your child how they have differences too - in ways that may not be physical or show outwardly, but they have differences compared to you or their siblings or their friends. This helps make it relatable to them so they better understand.
It’s okay if you don’t know all of the answers. It’s okay if you don’t know a lot about that certain disability.
What’s not okay is to ignore another human being, treat them differently, or disrespect the respect they deserve.
So have the conversation, be kind, and let your child be curious. You may just learn something right along with them!
Drop a ❤️ in the comments if this was helpful to you!
