One difficult but important thing to teach your children is to be accepting and loving of others, especially in Primary. This can be a difficult concept to teach, and it can be difficult to know when to begin to teach it. For example most young children do not recognize if a child has Down Syndrome, and so would not treat the child any differently than any other child. However, there may come a point when your child notices the difference or becomes uncomfortable. You do not want to point out differences that your child may not notice and draw attention to them, but you do want to make sure that they understand and accept the child for who they are once they do.
I have a brother with disabilities. My daughter began to realize he was a little different at the age of three. She was scared of him because he hugged her a little too tightly. After my mother talked to him about not hugging or picking up little ones, we talked to my daughter. She understands that my brother does not think the same way, that he is a lot like a little kid, but in a grown up body. Once she understood this, she became more comfortable around him. She treats him with kindness.
Additionally it is important to teach your child to treat all other children with kindness, regardless of their behavior or attitude. While I recognize that you cannot force children to be friends with each other, you can stop taunts, teasing and other forms of bad behavior. I know many, many children who have been ostracized in Primary classes and church groups, because they are shy or socially awkward. Some children act out because they do not know any other way to deal with frustration. It can really hurt their feelings if other children constantly make them the monster when they play games or run away from them every time they see them.
You can teach your children to say hello and ask how someone is. You can teach your children to talk to a child who looks lonely or sit next to someone who seems sad. It is also important to teach your children that they do not need to follow the crowd in everything that they do. Often all it takes is one person to change the group behavior.
Related Articles:
Primary Time: Seeing Past the Disability
Primary Time: Five Steps to Resolving Social Conflicts in Primary