On Tuesday I took the boys to the doctor to get a scrip for J's epi-pen. We had an appt with his new teacher and the school nurse the next day. Anyway, when you enter the building, you have a short hallway leading to a large lobby for the lab. As we're walking, we pass a man in a wheelchair and he has some obvious disabilities. Then J says (in a very loud voice in a very quiet lobby) "Oh boy, that man sure looks crazy!"
The statement just shocked me and I said "J!" and pulled him around the corner. I tried to explain that God makes everyone different and there's nothing wrong with being different, but when you say something about someone it can hurt their feelings, etc. I could see that he didn't really "get it". But I had him go back to apologize. I'm not sure if he knew what was happening or not, but the nurse with him did and said thank you.
After we were done and in the truck they were both asking questions. They just didn't understand. He wasn't trying to be mean or make fun, he was just speaking what he thought without realizing how it could make someone feel. So I tried to make it more personal and talked to him about how sometimes he sneezes and lots of snot comes out. Well, alot of people might think that's pretty gross and how would he feel if someone at school or the park said something about how yucky that is, even though it's something that he can't help. He said it would make him sad and I said that's how it makes other people feel when you say something about how different they look. At that point he actually got it and started to cry saying "I didn't mean to make him sad". I told him that I knew that and was talking to him about it so that he would learn that sometimes the things we say can hurt people so we have to be careful about our words.
Ugh! How embarassing though!
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