Today’s Guest Post is by Natalie at Newswahl.com. Her post is on Being Kind. I hope you enjoy it!
My son’s school has a program called Be Kind. It was started by parent’s of a child named Josh who was killed in a car accident, and has become quite the movement in our school district. The aim of the program is to reward children for being kind to one another and prevent bullying. My son loves it, and is often rewarded for going out of his way to be kind. We love the program because it teaches our son a value that is central to our faith and beliefs.
We recently had a family discussion about language and how we can use language to hurt or help. Our son picked up a lot of crude and disrespectful language at summer camp this summer, and so it is important that we teach him alternatives to such behaviors, and the reasons why we would choose not to engage in them. We all signed a pledge to use kind language and avoid crude, vulgar, or profane language. The questions “is it true, and is it kind?’ are central to helping to change the feel of our language and help us all to be better. The dictionary says profanity includes language that is disrespectful and irreverent. So even common phrases that are used in a hurtful or angry manner can be included under the definition of profanity. I find that I too have been guilty of using a lot of unkind language this summer, and am determined to change.
I have worked with a bunch of young, school-age boys all summer at summer camps. I have found that teasing, and crude language are how they try to be “cool”. This trend is destructive and frustrating to me. Several children were teased to the point that they left the camps early. Others were turned away or made fun of because of differing abilities. I did my best to mitigate such incidences and teach the children to use kind words and to be respectful towards one another, but it was a difficult task.
Our society is trending towards selfishness, and humor at the expense of others. It is of little consequence to make fun of ourselves and others. In fact, most comedy is aimed at ridicule. George Washington said that profanity “is a vice so mean and low. . . that every man of sense, and character detests and despises it.” How we have come to accept insults and crude language as humorous or even acceptable is beyond me. I do not wish to see this trend continue. Bullying in our schools is a real problem, and it is because we accept such language and behavior as being funny, or socially necessary to fitting in, however, it is not funny to the one who is the center of such behavior.
I work a lot with children with disabilities. I find it a blessing that many times they do not understand the intent or full impact of others language and behavior towards them. Those that do have demonstrated frustration and anger that breaks my heart. My son has been targeted at times, and will come home in tears. Children are not to blame. As parents and a community we set the example of what is acceptable. Television and media both glamorizes and shuns bullying, crude and hurtful language, and profanity. This is a trend that as parents and a community we must fight to change. My challenge to readers is to please look at your language, and the example you set. Examine what you allow to be said and done in your home, what media you allow. Is it uplifting. Does it create the environment that you hope to cultivate for your family? If not, then take our pledge and change that.
About Natalie
My name is Natalie. I am the mother of a wonderful ADHD 7-year-old, and his crazy teacher father. Think Bill Nye and the absent minded professor rolled into one and you have my life. I was just “diagnosed” with my 5th rare illness. Hopefully this will be the right one. It is called autoimmune hypophysistis, or failure of the pituitary gland, which apparently regulates all hormones necessary for normal life. This blog will share my journey, and my families fun, and anything that can make life better since we are all just muddling through.
