“It was then that my son asked me for my Starbucks card (something that very rarely has a balance, but is kept safely in my wallet around my birthday and the holidays when I can reload it with gift cards). He likes playing with old gift cards and reward cards, so I passed it back to him.”
About a minute later, her son got her attention again—this time though, he didn’t have a question, but a gift.
“’Here, mommy.’
‘What is it, honey?’
‘This is for you. I put dollars on your coffee card for you.’
I turn around. He hands me my Starbucks card, neatly wrapped inside a $5 bill he must have had in his wallet. He, being the literal child that he is, put $5 ON my card for me to buy a coffee.”
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This mama was blown away by the kindness of her son, and reminded that “monkey-see-monkey-do.” Our kiddos are always watching and learning, even when it seems like our words are going in one ear and out the other. She encourages all parents with this:
“Take a moment to appreciate how beautifully your children’s minds work. When my husband told me we ‘can’t put money on the card,’ my son took that quite literally…so he did it for me. I will never in my life drink a better cup of coffee than I did that afternoon.
Then, more importantly, take another moment to realize that teaching kindness to children is such a worthwhile feat. This is the same little boy who has told me in the past he wants to give ‘all of his dollars to the man that lives on the sidewalk,’ and that he wants to make a lot of money when he grows up ‘so he can give his dollars to other kids that don’t have mommies or daddies.’
She ends by saying:
When you think they aren’t listening, they are. When you think you’ve said it 1,000 times but it hasn’t sunk in…it has.
Teach your kids kindness and they will pour it into the world. They, and all of the lives your children will change, deserve it.”