Teachable Moment

The demon finally went to sleep

We had a young man babysit the boys last Friday night. Before he arrived he texted Patrick and asked if he should bring any board games (so sweet). Upon arrival he informed me that he packed his favorite childhood DVD's for the boys to enjoy (super sweet). When we got home from our evening out, I could tell this young man was a little frazzled. Duncan had yet to go to sleep (it was 10pm) and he said that they just kept asking to watch more Loony Toon cartoons. I told him that as long as the children were still alive, everything was fine. On his way out the door he informed me that he was keeping the Loony Toons DVD here because he promised Wip it would be here when he woke up (super duper sweet).

When the boys woke up the next day, I asked Wip if he had fun with the new babysitter and he looked at me and said "mommy, he looked different...his hair was different". This was my teachable moment. The young man is kind, loving, and happens to be African American. I told Wip that we need to be kind to everyone, even when they look different. I tried to tell him if we all looked the same it would be pretty boring world that we live in. Finally, I yelled for Patrick to come up in case I was missing something or if he had anything to add:). Those teachable moments can creep up on you in this job of being a parent. I have often heard that folks want their children to be "colorblind" and if it could only be that easy. I want to teach my children to be kind human beings no matter how similar or different someone might be.

Wip was pretty excited that he left the Loony Toons DVD for him! Loony Toons and Fruit Loops, could a Saturday morning get any better?