Cub Scouts now, Rescue Worker later
This week I was feeling a little glum. I had a few close calls with the kiddos that really threw me off my game.
One kid didn’t hold the bus buddy’s hand on the way to the bus stop the other day. She stepped onto the road but jumped back quickly when a driver honked. I spent the rest of the day feeling like I was going to puke.
The very next day, I left baby alone rolling around on the floor to put something in the garbage. When I returned 10 seconds later he seemed to be doing something weird with his mouth. After some serious fishing, I pulled out the remnants of an old balloon. Gasp. I don’t even know where it came from. And here I thought I left him in a safe place.
So in my world, I had a couple of near disasters, though I find it a bit weird using that word in light of Haiti.
I didn’t want to hide Haiti from my big kids. We went on the Internet and heard political leaders speak about the tragedy and watched some Haiti footage. I even told them about all the deaths. I know they will have an answer to the question “Where were you when you heard about the earthquake in Haiti?”
It was a teachable moment and if I played my cards right, they would experience appropriate empathy and feel empowered to help without being totally traumatized. We made a family plan about how we, as a family, were going to response to this tragedy. Our plan included a donation made by me and the Daddy-o. In exchange, the kids had to decide what they were going to give up so that we would have the funds available. It was important to me that they had to do without so that we could give. In addition, each child contributed all of their “donate” money. Each week the biggies get allowance and it is divided between their “spend”, “save” and “donate” piggy banks.
It all ended in tears (by me) when my 10-year-old son asked if he could be a rescue worker and go over the Haiti to help out. Maybe one day.
Did you tell your kids? How much information did you share? Do you worry about protecting them from such news? Does your family plan to help in any way? Please share!
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Oh gosh, your ‘near disasters’ definitely qualify!! (mamas are always allowed to use the word ‘disaster’ if it means something bad happening to their precious kiddos!) What a horrible feeling. Thank goodness everyone was okay (even if their guardian angels were having to work overtime this week!)
Sounds like you did an awesome job of sharing the information with the kids. Those are some great ideas that I will definitely remember in the future.
I confess that my current ‘new baby fog’ has me detached enough from the media that i don’t even know that much about the earthquake. Obviously I’ve heard about it, but maybe I need to turn off Raffi and switch on the radio this week
p.s. the degree of empathy that your son showed certainly speaks volumes about all the wonderful work you’ve done with him as a parent. you must be incredibly proud. well done.
honestly, those two events in my little world are still festering in the pit of my stomach.
My son’s comment made me soooo proud. And this is a kid with autism….empathy can be hard for kids on spectrum. His ABA team was thrilled that he made that comment – he’s come a long way!!
Wow! As the sibling of a someone with Asperger’s Syndrome I am really impressed by your son’s comment. I can’t imagine how proud you must be.
oh and Carrie – that balloon thing….SO weird. Don’t even remember when we had an orange balloon in the house. And yes, guardian angels is right. All it would have taken for me not to go immediately back to him was for one of the other kids to ask for something. I would have left him there for a few minutes while tending to them. That’s what made it hard….lying in bed thinking about all the things that could have distracted me from going back straight away. ugh.
My kids have had first hand experience with people from Haiti.
My sister in law’s family help co-ordinate a group of Haitian Dancers (boys who have been rescued off the streets and now live in a safe and stable environment in a home run by the church) to come to GTA to perform at local schools and churches to raise money and awareness for the homes in Haiti.
We spent an afternoon with the group in October listening to them sing , dance and play drums.
My kids played with the 9 yr old boy that was with the group. He only spoke french and my kids only speak engish. They had a fabulous time playing together.
The one home the boys live in was demolished – i’ve seen the pictures. Thankfully only 1 person was severely hurt.
My kids know about what is going on.
And how the earthquake has affected the people she met not too long ago.
It’s very sad, but makes you put things in perspective.
I’ve talked with my oldest (6 yo) about it and read an online update with her about an orphan in Haiti that Free the Children works with (we’ve very connected to this wonderful Canadian charity) – while I’m not sure how much she took in, she was very interested in hearing about the little girl from Haiti. I think putting things like this in context depending on their age, is key. She’s donating the share portion of her moonjar (a piggybank I highly recommend – http://www.moonjar.com) to the cause and we’re matching her donation. I’m also taking her to the bank to do it, not just doing this donation online with a credit card. If you’re looking for more ways to foster your family’s sense of community, I highly recommend “The World Needs Your Kid” by Craig and Marc Kielburger – as easy but essential read for parents, teachers and anyone who works with kids of any age.
My goodness, Julie, what a week for you. During the difficult times, both at home and in the world, those little silver linings – like your 10-year-old wanting to be a rescue worker to help out in Haiti – that remind us there is much to be thankful for.
Love the moonjars! OK, that would be way more efficient than all the different jars and piggy banks we have going around here. Excellent tip about taking daughter physically to the bank!
Julie – thanks for sharing. loved hearing about the friendship your kids made with the child from haiti!
Just an FYI. The Canadian government is matching donations dollar for dollar. So is ING Direct. So, if you bank with ING Direct, and you make a donation through them (they will give it to the Red Cross and you’ll still get a tax receipt), you’re donating 3 times as much. So, if you donate $100, they’re really getting $300!
Thanks for this post – I just caught sight of your blog when I ordered some labels a few weeks ago. Anyway, some great ideas on teaching kids the value of money and empathizing with those who don’t have it as easy as we do. I found another “piggy bank” that has different compartments – including one additional one that is different from the moonjars. They’re called Money-Ed-Boxes and you can check them out on http://www.kidsmoney.com.au/html/s02_article/article_view.asp?keyword=Teach-money-skills-in-4-EASY-AND-FUN-steps-BUY-a-Money-Ed-Box-TODAY
PS: For the record, I have no stake in those boxes, just liked them and thought I’d share
PS 2 – You really should be proud of your little boy. It’s a real testament to your parenting skills.
I haven’t mentioned it to my 4.5 year old. He’s already afraid of burglars breaking in at night (I don’t know where this fear came from) so I don’t want to add earthquakes or being orphaned to his list of fears. We did donate some money at the grocery store. DH and I would like to adopt but circumstances prevent that right now. Perhaps in the future.