When your child is sad, you are sad. No matter how much you understand the cause of their disappointment; no matter how much you know your child must endure pain to survive in this world, you cannot help but suffer with them. And if their pain is due to social rejection, bullying or just the petty meanness of some of their peers, it is heartbreaking for them and so, of course, for you.
This is especially true when your child is learning disabled or has additional needs because this stuff happens all the time. I cannot count the number of times that my daughter has called upstairs after getting off the bus, " Mum, I had a terrible day!" It is so hard to hear that, especially day after day. We talk and use these experiences to learn and grow socially. And I must admit that it used to happen much more than it has this year. But my daughter feels it more deeply now because the kids that are saying these things are 12 years old or more (if they are on the bus) and the things they say are more hurtful.
In the brilliant film, "The Boy Inside" by Marianne Kaplan, Marianne goes to a autism convention and meets a mother with 2 autistic sons. In a scene that is brutally hard to watch, the mother implores others to reject her but not to reject her children, please. I know why she says that. Because it cuts deeply. As a 54 year old woman, the greatest pain that I have felt in my life has been because of my children and the pain that they have experienced. I'm sure that is true for many parents and their kids.
And so there are tears. There will be so many more. But right now, it's today's tears that stain tonight's pillow. Sleep tight my little loves....
This is especially true when your child is learning disabled or has additional needs because this stuff happens all the time. I cannot count the number of times that my daughter has called upstairs after getting off the bus, " Mum, I had a terrible day!" It is so hard to hear that, especially day after day. We talk and use these experiences to learn and grow socially. And I must admit that it used to happen much more than it has this year. But my daughter feels it more deeply now because the kids that are saying these things are 12 years old or more (if they are on the bus) and the things they say are more hurtful.
In the brilliant film, "The Boy Inside" by Marianne Kaplan, Marianne goes to a autism convention and meets a mother with 2 autistic sons. In a scene that is brutally hard to watch, the mother implores others to reject her but not to reject her children, please. I know why she says that. Because it cuts deeply. As a 54 year old woman, the greatest pain that I have felt in my life has been because of my children and the pain that they have experienced. I'm sure that is true for many parents and their kids.
And so there are tears. There will be so many more. But right now, it's today's tears that stain tonight's pillow. Sleep tight my little loves....
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