Mum teaches daughter brilliant anti-bullying message via a tube of TOOTHPASTE
A mum has given her pre-teen daughter a very wise piece of advice on KINDNESS as she embarks on her first day in middle school.
We all worry about our kids being the recipient – or the perpetrator – of bullying. It’s true that the old rhyme says names can never hurt us, but we all know that’s not the case. Harsh words have the power to wound deeply. Sometimes for a lifetime.
So at this crucial age, mum Amy Beth Gardner wants her daughter Breonna to know that the mean things people say to others can’t be taken back. And to demonstrate her point, she used a tube of toothpaste.
“I gave her a tube of toothpaste and asked her to squirt it out onto a plate,” Amy Beth wrote in an amazing Facebook post. “When she finished, I calmly asked her to put all the toothpaste back in the tube. She began exclaiming things like. ‘But I can’t!’ and, ‘It won't be like it was before!’”
This response gave Amy Beth the perfect opportunity to make a powerful point about how we should treat others.
“You will remember this plate of toothpaste for the rest of your life,” she told her daughter.
“Your words have the power of life or death. As you go into middle school, you are about to see just how much weight your words carry. You are going to have the opportunity to use your words to hurt, demean, slander and wound others. You are also going to have the opportunity to use your words to heal, encourage, inspire and love others.
“Just like this toothpaste, once the words leave your mouth, you can't take them back. Use your words carefully, Breonna. When others are misusing their words, guard your words. Make the choice every morning that life-giving words will come out of your mouth. Decide tonight that you are going to be a life-giver in middle school. Be known for your gentleness and compassion. Use your life to give life to a world that so desperately needs it. You will never, ever regret choosing kindness.”
Wow, just wow. What a wise, loving lady! We have a feeling that with a mum like that to steer her right, Breonna will spread kindness wherever she goes.