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Different moons are beautiful – and so are different kinds of people!
Photo Credit: photobucket.com/users/scaleypoo
Our best lessons often come from our students. During a workshop for young adults with developmental delays, a large heavy-set young man, Lester, said very sadly and earnestly, “But, Irene, I AM fat and ugly! What good words can I say to myself about THAT?”
“Lester, when you look at the moon,” I said, “It is sometimes a skinny moon, and sometimes a half moon, and sometimes a full round moon – but no matter what shape it is, all moons are beautiful. You could throw away the words ‘fat and ugly’ and say to yourself, ‘I’m round like the full moon!'”
So we practiced, with my saying, “You are fat and ugly!” so that Lester could throw these words into the trash and say proudly, “I’m round and beautiful like the full moon!”
Then, for the first time that a student has asked me this question in all my years of teaching, Lester turned to me and asked, “So, Irene, what mean words do YOU say to yourself that you’d like to practice throwing away?”
Startled, I said, “Well, I don’t like my squeaky voice! But what good words could I say to myself about THAT?”
Lester smiled, patted my arm, and explained kindly, “Irene, your voice says things that make people happy.”
At his insistence, I practiced physically throwing away the words, “I hate my squeaky voice!” and telling myself out loud, “My voice says things that make people happy!”
And do you know what? Just as I am always reminding my students, physically practicing what to do and saying the words you need to remember out loud really does help — because I haven’t felt bad about my squeaky voice since!
For more information about Kidpower’s resources for teaching these People Safety Skills and concepts, please visit our online Library and our RelationSafe™ Bookstore.
Published: June 17, 2013 | Last Updated: September 11, 2017
Irene van der Zande, Kidpower Founder and Executive Director
Kidpower Founder and Executive Irene van der Zande is a master at teaching safety through stories and practices and at inspiring others to do the same. Her child protection and personal safety expertise has been featured by USA Today, CNN, Today Moms, the LA Times, and The Wall Street Journal. Publications include: cartoon-illustrated Kidpower Safety Comics and Kidpower Teaching Books curriculum; Bullying: What Adults Need to Know and Do to Keep Kids Safe; the Relationship Safety Skills Handbook for Teens and Adults; Earliest Teachable Moment: Personal Safety for Babies, Toddlers, and Preschoolers; The Kidpower Book for Caring Adults: Personal Safety, Self-Protection, Confidence, and Advocacy for Young People, and the Amazon Best Seller Doing Right by Our Kids: Protecting Child Safety at All Levels.