My gal likes to be the one to find us a plum spot when we pull into any parking lot. She will scan the area, swinging her head from side to side, and do her best to line up a prime location for our car to rest while we shop. Recently, on a trip to Whole Foods, she thought she had a great one, right in front of the store. Little did she know it was a handicap spot, complete with blue paint on the ground and a sign planted into the earth. She was upset that I did not park there, in her spot. I figured this was as good a time as any to have the conversation about folks with disabilities. We pulled into a spot nearby and walked past the still empty handicap spot and showed her the image of a white wheelchair on the royal blue backdrop and in the car to the left, the same image on the tag hanging from the rearview mirror. The owner of that vehicle arrived while we were still talking to her and had a couple nice words to say and wished her a good day. It was a very nice gesture on his part, explaining to her that he has a problem walking and that he hopes she never gets to park in those spots – I really think she understood the impromptu discussion.
Inside the market, I decided to take the lesson a bit further by explaining food allergies and how some folks cannot eat or even be near certain foods. Food allergies were in my mind that day for two reasons. A had recently received an email from a fellow blogger detailing his son’s sensitivity to numerous foods and how his family turned it into a positive – with his wife and son working in the kitchen together to prepare meals he can eat. Also, our girl’s new school had just informed us that they do not allowing peanut butter in the building, as a couple students are allergic to that nut.
Like everything else we do, I want to make these kind of life lessons as fun (and challenging) as possible for her, so we decided to shop as if we were not allowed to eat peanut butter and unable to consume dairy. It made for quite an interesting hour walk around the grocery store and prompted many conversations about what exactly is in certain foods (we read a lot of labels that day!) and how rough it may be for folks to make meals without peanut and dairy products. I have to tell you, it is really difficult to shop like this if you do not have to, but incredibly rewarded to make the effort.
I feel it is extremely important to speak frankly with my daughter about the challenges others face in life and teach tolerance, acceptance and respect. The thing is, this – like just everything else in life – can be rather interesting and fun to try and the benefits of such an experiment can go a very long way in developing kind and loving children.