All kids have a role to play on this planet
we call home, says
Orla Breeze
.
advice
(rated PG)
W
e’ve had to declare the
school a Hug-free zone.
Yes, you read that right.
An actual Hug-free zone.
No random hugs, no hugging teachers
and no hugging friends when on school
premises. Before you get the wrong idea,
this is not a rant against my kids’ school. I
love that place. In fact, I love it so much
that my inner child tried to enrol when I
wasn’t looking. Twice. And we haven’t
had to enforce it with all three of our kids
either. Just one. The one who naturally
hugs people whether stranger or friend.
The one who sees the world as a love-
filled place and simply wants to share it.
The one who I guess is a little… different.
Look, I see both sides of the story. I
understand that schools need to cater for
everyone and that some kids just aren’t
that comfortable with an unexpected
hug from a classmate. Or they don’t
need hugs as often as my kid thinks they
should have one. And I also understand
the point of view that sees nothing wrong
with spreading a little love around on a
daily basis. I mean, who doesn’t love a
hug? They’re just different perspectives
from different kids. Each with needs as
unique as themselves. There are all kinds
of children.
There are those who are termed
‘normal’ and those who are termed
‘different’. There are those who are
placed on spectrums and those who
are labelled and those who can’t quite
be placed in categories and those
who are categorised to the hilt. There
are exuberant ones and shy ones and
studious ones and chatty ones. There
are daydreamers and adventurers and
wiser-than-their-years ones. But no matter
how the world sees them, all of them
without exception have a role to play
on this planet we call home.
All
of them.
And one of the (countless) jobs of being
a parent is to help them discover what
their unique gift is. To nurture that spark
without accidentally snuffing it out. Tricky,
right?
So how? Where do we start? Do we
go out and sign them up for any and all
extra-curricular activities that take the
slightest of their fancy? Do we get them
extra lessons in any subject they seem to
enjoy? Do we try to ensure they spend
time with high-achievers in the hope that
it will somehow rub off on them? No, no
and no. We do nothing. Yup. Absolutely
nada, nil and zero.
And instead of doing nothing, we
work on
being
their example of someone
who knows their own unique gift and
shares it with the world.
Ok stop! I can hear you. “But I don’t
know what my unique gift is!”
Yes, you do.
Just because we live in a world
where we put ‘gifted’ people up on a
pedestal doesn’t mean we have to be a
world-class singer or an Everest-climbing
adventurer or an Oscar-winning actor
in order to inspire others. Although if you
turn out to be one of those, then great.
A gift can be as simple as the way you
always smile at a stranger or those green
fingers that somehow always manage
to produce the most incredible garden
year after year. Or the way you can
make anyone laugh no matter what their
mood. It’s whatever makes you happy
and allows you to spread that happiness
to others. That’s your uniqueness and
that is your gift. Discover your own
and your child will be well on the way
to discovering theirs. No matter how
different they are.
All kinds of kids
20
Playtimes
