When my oldest son was in Grade One, there was a little boy named Timmy that was a bit of a bully to him. Timmy had been going to classes with Zackary since they were both in preschool, and I’d seen the boy’s rude behaviour for myself when helping out in the class. It was hard knowing what advice to give my son about Timmy, but I did tell him that Timmy likely just hadn’t learned proper manners yet, and that Zackary should pity him rather than be angry with him.
As it happened, Timmy did just need some experience in social situations. As the youngest in his family, he had clearly been spoiled. But a few years of following rules and learning about fairness at school made a world of difference. Now, Timmy is a pleasant and popular boy that gets along with everyone at school and is one of Zackary’s good friends. Thank goodness everyone was willing to give him a second chance! If your child is dealing with a difficult friend or classmate, Ever After High has five tips to help you teach your child about the importance of second chances.
Lead by Example
There will be times as a parent where the right thing to do is offer your little one a second chance. Forgetting to take out the trash, complete a small homework assignment or return home in time for dinner are all small mistakes a child will make. Instead of serving a punishment right away, try offering a second chance. This way your little one can see firsthand the benefits of being given a second chance and what it’s an important thing to do with others.
Things Aren’t Always as They Appear
In Way Too Wonderland, the girls at Ever After High had to learn to embrace Courtly Jester, who has an aggressive exterior, but a very insecure interior which the other girls learn to have compassion for. Just like Courtly, sometimes other children act out because they are insecure or have something upsetting or stressful happening in their lives. Rather than jumping to conclusions about someone, encourage your child to consider what else might be happening in the other person’s life. Encourage them to be tolerant, offer a second chance and maybe even check-in with the other person to see what might be happening in their life that is causing them to act out of character.
Encourage Compassion
The golden rule states that we should all treat others how we would like to be treated ourselves.
Encourage your child to think about giving second chances through this lens just like the girls in Way Too Wonderland did who realized that if they were Courtly, they too would want a chance to make things right. Teaching your child this kind of compassion is an important lifelong skill.
Ban Name Calling
Often for little ones, giving a second chance to someone doesn’t involve any wrong doing. In certain circumstances it can be that a friend or classmate has done something embarrassing in front of others. Tell your child that jumping on the bandwagon and making fun of another child in that position is not acceptable. Remind them how they would feel if the shoe was on the other foot.
Praise Kindness
If your child offers someone a second chance, give them praise. Acknowledge to them directly that giving a second chance is hard and that you’re very proud of them for doing the right thing. In future, they will be motivated to do the right thing as they have received positive reinforcement for the same actions previously.
To help your child learn a great lesson about second chances in a very fun way, Ever After High has put together a very special giveaway! Two lucky Mommy Kat and Kids readers are going to win a Way Too Wonderland Doll doll and New York Times Best Selling author Suzanne Selfor’s A Semi-Charming Kind of Life Ever After High novel, a $46 value! To enter to win, just leave a blog comment about which of these five tips you think would most help your child learn about giving second chances!
I’ve always loved the way that Ever After High helps to teach valuable life lessons through the adventures of its characters, and Courtly’s experience is one of the many examples of that. Let your little girl check out the show and dolls for herself and see how the characters from Ever After High can help her learn and grow!
Ever After Way Too Wonderland giveaway
encourage compassion,because there really is not enough compassion in the world
love the encourage compassion tip! it is so important to show compassion to others
I like Encourage Compassion, I think that all children would benefit from this including my grandchildren.
I like the “Things aren’t always as they appear” tip. It teaches kids not to pass judgement and to look beyond the surface of people and situations.
All great tips , I especially like Encourage Compassion.
love them all but especially I like the tip on ban name calling!!!
I think leading by example should come first and foremost. The rest will follow. I’m trying to live more consciously and be more aware of what I say and do and I see it reflecting well upon my child. It makes me happier too.
Encourage Compassion
They are all good tips, but I think Lead By Example would be a good one for my nieces to learn about.
I like the tip on Ban Name Calling