My daughter is the "VIP of the week" in her second grade class this week. They are supposed to bring in pictures of themselves and their family, their favorite book, and fill out a questionnaire about their favorite things. She filled it out well in advance but said that she was nervous about one of her answers - her favorite TV show, Dinosaur Train. I asked her why and she said that she was afraid all the other kids would laugh at her and say it was a babyish show. One of her best friends told her that she watched it when she was two and she thought it was a stupid show. For the record, that's impossible as they are 8 and the show is only 2 or 3 years old, and I told my daughter this.
Most of her friends like shows like iCarly and Victorious and other things I've never heard of. I don't let my kids watch a lot of TV so when they do I want them to learn something not just watch some mindless tween crap. Every now and then they'll ask about a new show and I'll watch it with them and decide if it's appropriate. Sometimes, I'm ok with it, sometimes not.
Anyway, I asked her if it still was her favorite show and she said it was because she likes dinosaurs and likes learning about them. My husband and I told her that your opinions are important and while it is important to respect other people's opinions even if you disagree, it is even more important to stand by your own beliefs and opinions. People will respect you more for standing strong rather than bowing to the common opinion.
Her day came and she stood in front of her class and gave her presentation, including saying that Dinosaur Train is her favorite show. Guess what, no one said a thing, good or bad. She admitted that she had been silly to be worried.
Ok, story number 2. I was changing my son's diaper the other day and as he was lying on the changing table, he said, "I pulled on the curtain, and it fell down, and I'm sorry." I asked him which curtain, and it was one on a tension rod hiding a storage closet in our basement. I thanked him for telling me, and told him I would fix it. I have to say I was surprised and proud of him. He'll be 3 in May so I wouldn't have expected to admit to wrong doing, especially when we were not even in the room where it had happened. It was an easy fix but I made sure to praise his honesty again to him, and when I related the story to his sisters and my husband. I'm a big believer in catching your kids being good.
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