celebrate diversity and teach kids empathy

Not only is my daughter an only child, she’s also a mom blogger’s only child. You could correctly assume she’s a bit — okay, a lot! — spoiled. It’s just the nature of our life. She gets mom’s and dad’s undivided attention when we’re together, and there’s nothing we want to change about that. As a mom blogger’s daughter who lives in L.A., she’s gone to Disneyland and Disney World as a VIP more times than she should have at this age. In contrast, I was 12 the first time I went and it was a dream come true! And it’s not only going to Disneyland — it’s screening movies, getting gifts, unexpected boxes at our front door, and on and on…

I’m honestly afraid that she has no grasp of the “real world” where all her first-world problems, like not being able to get a Sofia the First plush doll because it’s sold out or being oh-so-bored on a Sunday with “nothing to do,” seem so dramatic.

It’s actually not her fault at all. I truly believe we’re all born into the lifestyle we need in order to develop the skills, lacks and desires that will propel us towards our mission in life. Because I can’t and don’t want to change the life we’ve built for her, and am very grateful for, I’m fully aware that it’s our responsibility as her parents to make sure she doesn’t grow up in a bubble that shelters her from all the diversity in lifestyles and life situations that our world is made up of.

I can’t force my daughter to not whine or have tantrums over what we, in our mature adult POV, believe is just plain silly, but we can teach her empathy, which is simply the ability to be aware and sensitive to the feelings of others.

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