Some of you may or may not have heard about the recent stabbing in Pickering, Ontario. 

http://www.citynews.ca/2016/02/23/lockdown-lifted-eight-people-stabbed-pickering-high-school/

This post was triggered from a conversation I had with my 9 year old son the night of the incident.

It is very important to speak to our kids about such topics. I know this is a tough topic but a very important one. We talk about topics like this openly to our kids they may or may not understand completely but they are aware of it and we end the conversation by letting them know what they should do in such a situation. We try our best to not scare them but answer their Why’s. We now live in a world that is so different from when we grew up.

Talking to them could make a difference. A couple of years ago a boy (let’s call him Jim) came up to my son (A) and asked him if he could be friends with my son and my son replied “NO!” The reason A said no was because Jim was bullying my son since my son was the new kid at school. After a few days my son noticed Jim was playing alone, went up to him and asked “no luck finding friends”?. Jim said no, so my son replied “okay I will be your friend”. Today they are best buds.

Later, we found out that this little boy at a very young age has been through some tough times. When he was just a little baby his mom left him. He does not know anything about his dad. His grandparents were his caregivers. A few years ago, he lost his grandfather. Now his grandmother has cancer. I cried when my son told me all this about Jim. My heart broke for him - so much to deal with at such a young age. I could not stop thinking about Jim and all he has been through and still going through. Now I understand why he was acting this way. I never knew about his home situation and his family. As I was thinking about him I thought to myself I am glad he found a friend in my son.

I also felt proud of my son. He reached out to Jim even though he was bullying my son he still wanted to be friends with him. I felt good about the fact that although my son my not be a straight A student, he has compassion. I don’t know when my little boy became such a young man. It feels good to know we are raising a good person. Maybe this friendship could mean a difference in this boy’s life. Please don’t get me wrong I am not suggesting that my son has changed this little boy’s life but that he has helped a little by becoming friends with Jim and changed him from being a bully and acting out at school. I was wondering what kind of kid he would be? Would he still be bullying my son or someone else? Would he still be acting out at school? What kind of kid would he grow into? Would he get angry at life at some point because of all he has gone through? Would he be the kid we hear about on the news? I really hope not. This could be the first step for some to feel anger, resentment and hate. Now that we know more about Jim we will make more of an effort to have my son in his life.

So getting back to why I think it is important to speak to your kids about this topic. They can make a difference in someone’s life by being there, by being their friend. It could be just that simple. I remember when my son used to come home and cry because Jim used to bully him at school. I told him I am sorry he is being mean to you but we don’t know why. I told him not to be mean to him. I told him to be nice to him and maybe because of that he will also be nice to him.

Maybe, this girl in Pickering who went to school and hurt others would not have got to this point if others made the effort to know her and be friends with her instead of not caring. Care enough to see she was reaching out and she was in trouble. We as parents need to raise good little people so that they can pass it on to others and at the end we can all live in a better place.

We all just need to be nice to each other.

‪Like Ellen DeGeneres says #‎BeKindToOneAnother‬