The things they say...

Ben came home from school yesterday, and as he was telling me about his day, he was bragging about something he could do, but another kid could not. This was a good opportunity to have a discussion about everyone being different, and that trying is the most important thing, and that having a go is how we all learn etc. Ben is very reluctant to even try things he doesn't think he can do- cutting, colouring and pasting being one of the things he can't do as well as he would like and he avoids whenever possible! He tends to be a bit of a bragger at the moment, which is not his most endearing quality, so the conversation was along the lines of "We aren't all good at everything Ben, and sometimes we have to try hard to learn to do something new. There are some things you are good at, and some things that you are still learning to do. You need to be an encourager, not a show-off, because that's how you show you are a good friend."

I then went on to explain that Luke may take a little longer to learn things when he gets to school, and that we would like people to help and encourage him, not to show off about being better. Ben agreed with me, and then said that if that happened we would invite the kid involved over to play, which would be a trick, because once they were here, I would help him put them in a headlock...not quite the lesson I had in mind! I think I may need to have another go at the compassion conversation, don't you?!