My kids got to know some of the neighbor kids today and came to dinner with tales of the comments that were made.
"If I touch your sister, will I get three toes like her? I don't want to get her disease."
"What happened to your brother's ear? Was it from a disease?"
There seemed to be quite a few comments about 'disease,' so I think the neighbor kids thought they could catch a special need. What a great opportunity to introduce them to some wonderful little kids who happen to have some special issues!
I waited to see how my kids were reacting, and was so thrilled to hear them say, "I think they have never seen kids with special needs before. They don't know what to ask."
Apparently they handled it just fine because the neighbor kids came back after dinner. I went outside for awhile and they were all having a blast with the little kids. It's so cute to watch how the older kids want to play with the pre-schoolers. What was really interesting is that Zoey, who has the most obvious special need, soon became the favorite. Gotta love that!
What's not to love?!
