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I snapped this at my nephew's Christmas program. It really struck me how emotional it was. Reminded me of how hard it is being a kid sometimes. Even in Kindergarten.

Also makes me wish we taught our kids just how important it is to be kind to all people.

Nothing in this image is obvious but it's all implied.

School can be rough for all. Even the "cool" kids. They have that pressure of being cool all the time. One step away from being out of the group. Some have parents that add pressure that way too.

So parents on both sides.......and you know who you are.......make sure you let your kids know. Yes, it shapes us but for some it cripples. Let them know to be nice but also not to care so much what others think. When you are that age everything is so important........or so you think.

My soapbox for the day. Thanks for indulging me.

Comments

	tammyjq41 says: This is great! Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )
	BrutalGoddess says: I second that! This is a great picture! As a parent it's so important to teach your children to treat others the way you want to be treated. Whatever happened to "Everything you needed to know about life you learned in Kindergarten"? Oh wait, we're not allowed to teach 'that' stuff anymore. Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )
	EyeOfTheJen says: Very well stated. My daughter has a hard time sometimes because of her JRA. I am impressed actually by the number of kids that do understand or at least help her and are nice to her but there are a few... the few that started wearing makeup too early and dress like a hoochy already that give her grief because she doesn't or can't run in gym class. Overall she handles it pretty well but there are days when you can tell it gets to her. Kids have it sooooo much harded then we did and it is tough on us to realize just what they go through or how to help them. Sometimes you just have to let them take their lumps and learn the hard way how to handle things. Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )
	iceman9294 says: Very thoughtful. Thank you. Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )
	hoolsmum says: Thankyou for this. You are not just a fantastic photographer! And EyeOfTheJen you sound like a wonderful parent...keep up the good work...one day your daughter will shine beyond all belief! Think of how much more she is learning than those kids who have it easy. Posted 21 months ago. ( permalink )
	honeybeararmy says: this is really incredible. every girl looking at him, he's the only boy you can see in the shot, plus the weight. it's incredible the looks on the girls' faces. it makes you think and wonder if whether one day, when they're the one being stared at and scowled at, if they'll think back on how they stared and scowled at a boy during the holiday season of 2006. i also wonder if one day one of them won't find this photo and realise. all it really takes is one week of being stared at and scowled at and pointed at in public for someone to learn their lesson for life. well, i'd like to think that, but i also know people who've said that they're out to get even with those who put them down, and they do it by putting others down. messed up. on what eyeofthejen said: i'll agree that kids these days have it harder than people did a while ago, and i'm not sure what to blame it on. if i were to make a guess, it's because there are so many parents out there who are overly concerned with making every kid aware of all the different kinds of people out there and terms for them and why it's okay to be different and all that stuff, i think that kids who may not have seen a difference between them and the kid sitting next to them or behind them before would then start to see them. i know that when i was in kindergarten in 1985, i didn't know that kids who had what i described as skin the colour of coffee were indian, and kids with the pretty pointed eyes were asian, or that it was a huge deal that on the re-runs of star trek that i watched that it was a huge deal that uhura was a black woman on the bridge. i didn't know there was a difference that could be something people would think of badly until people told me about racism and how to identify people of different races, and that people who are disabled get picked on, and all that. i never thought of it myself. kids take something that adults tell them about and run with it, especially in a group setting, if they can get even one person to go along with their picking on someone else, then it's pretty much guaranteed that whoever is getting picked on will continue to get picked on. kids hear about racism and how it's wrong, but we all know that in the mind of a child, things you tell them to not do, they want to do them, as a form of rebellion and/or curiosity, so things get said and lines get drawn, because grownups want those kids to "be aware" of the differences between themselves and everyone else. that's my opinion anyway, others are likely to feel differently but i completely disagree with making children aware of the fact that there is a name for the race that person is, which is determined by the colour of their skin most typically. although, kids who can't do things everyone else can do are picked out whether or not grownups point out "this sort of person has CP" and "this person has JRA" and "this person only has one leg due to a birth defect" and the like, kids do figure out there's something "wrong" with the people who can't do the same things they can do, and that is picked on whether or not a grownup points out that there's something different about that kid who sits behind them or rides a different bus. great shot, very thought provoking. if you ever had a showing somewhere, i'd really really want for you to include this, as it's such a good shot and makes you think as much as it does. Posted 21 months ago. ( permalink )
	BrutalGoddess says: To honetbeararmy: You nailed it! I think you just have to let your kids be themselves and find out who they are on their own. Exposure is good, but it should be interest and imagination driven, not politically correct. I always tell my kids that the popular ones peak in high school and the bullyies will be cleaning toilets one day and to fly their freak flags high. Let's hope this parenting style works, call me in 10 years! lol! Posted 21 months ago. ( permalink )

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