A Daily Reminder from a Blow Dryer

Every morning while doing my hair before work my eyes settle on a tag on my blow dryer. It says “Warn children of the risk of death by electric shock.” And every morning this causes me to consider the enormity of the responsibility parents have in raising children. My next thought is always about the role teachers and child care providers play in helping children grow and develop. It’s about remembering to warn children of risks like a blow dryer in a bathtub and it’s about teaching skills like sharing with your friends. The big goal, of course, is to help children become happy, confident adults that contribute to our society by sharing their unique gifts and talents. It’s an every day, every minute endeavor. I think it can be easy to forget the end goal when we are trying to get through the day-to-day challenges. Two children struggling over the same toy can be very annoying to us as adults, if we have forgotten that our role is to teach these two children the skills necessary to share. Remembering that behaviors are opportunities to encourage skill-building in children can be a helpful way to maintain our composure.  Let’s consider all the tools and skills that are necessary for you to get through your own adult day. Here are just a few:

·      Dealing with disappointment

·      Listening while others speak

·      Being empathetic

·      Compromising with our spouse, partner or colleagues

·      Setting aside our own interests for the greater good

·      Being patient while waiting in lines

·      Cooperation in the workplace

·      Effectively communicating your needs

This is a list of skills I used before 9:00am today! And, at the risk of repeating the classic All I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, these are all skills we help children learn in our child care and youth recreation programs. They need us to show them the way. They need us to lead by example, and also to be very understanding when they haven’t yet mastered a skill. There is so much to teach these small beings. It’s a big and important responsibility. I try to remind myself of this every morning as I prepare for work.

Inclusion is…teaching skills