“Mommy Why?”
Maybe you struggle to answer the stream of “why” questions that come from your kids too. I seem to get the most when I’m driving in the car.
Why’s that man standing on the road? Why is he dirty? Why is he holding up that sign? What does it say?
How do you explain homeless to a 5 and 3 year old?
I looked to one of our favorite books we read before bed, called "The Rainbow Fish"
"The Rainbow Fish" is a little book with a BIG message
It is a story about the most beautiful fish in the sea. The Rainbow Fish thought he was too beautiful to play with the other fish. He had beautiful shiny scales on his body and he was very proud of them. The other fish asked him to share his scales so that they might be beautiful too. The Rainbow Fish said "no" and treated them with disdain, so the other fish swam away. He became lonely and sad.
One day The Rainbow Fish felt so lonely and sad he asked the advice of the wise octopus. The wise octopus suggested if he shared his beautiful scales with the other fish he might discover the true source of happiness.
So he gave away most of his scales to the other fish, he was no longer the most beautiful fish in the sea but it didn't matter because he was happy.
The Rainbow Fish learned the joy of sharing.
Sitting at the stoplight, I reminded the kids that it doesn’t really make you happy to keep everything to yourself and not share your toys, snacks or the piggy banks.
The next thing my son Andy said was, “mama I think I want to give that man my granola bar.” That was BIG! For Andy, his most prized possession is food. I was so proud. I rolled down his window in the backseat, a little scared hoping this man would be safe, and let Andy share his granola bar.
I also realized I shouldn’t be holding on so tightly to all my shiny things.
Tell me what kinds of questions your kids ask you and what you've learned from it. Share here or on my Facebook Page.