Day 7 – Teaching a Child To Share

Sharing is caring they say, and despite the cliche,
it’s a truth we don’t always learn quickly as children.
Little people can’t be blamed for thinking the world is their oyster,
even though they may not know what an oyster is and,
added to their breakfast cereal,
probably wouldn’t like it.

To tell the truth, neither would I, served that way.

Still, they know instinctively the world revolves around them
and, totally dependent on those taller versions of themselves,
their every need must be met by others.
Food, hygiene, clothing, sweets, treats, and a safe place to sleep.
All expected. No thanks.
Just like with the air they breathe they have no
realisation that appreciation and gratitude
from time to time would be nice.

In good homes everywhere, however, loving nurture resides,
and little people see examples everyday
of what it is to be truly human.
In time, they may recognise that you can be human without
caring, sharing, loving, or even being, at the very least, kind.
But hopefully, they won’t want to just be ‘human’ and follow
the examples of those who demonstrate that there is more to living
than what you consume, and expel,
and the fun you find along the way.

The “more” is what parents have always done for their children.
Good parents, that is, not always connected by birth,
have always known that little people like plants
have needs they can’t meet themselves.
More than food and water they need –
love, laughter and kindness –
the real stuff of life that makes humans truly human.
Giving these three as a daily diet makes them not just ‘human’,
a poor second, but truly so.

Strange to note that all the great people history remembers were once
little people who couldn’t so much as wipe their own faces
or even … other places.
The greatest of them always learned to give back kindness in kind.

So, let’s be kind.

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