I've heard people say that bullying is a problem these days and it needs to end.
When my son was being bullied on the bus, I took the boys cookies and talked with them and
told them we wanted friendship. The bullying ended.
I've heard that people don't talk to each other enough and that kids are always on their phones.
Every morning at quarter to seven, my son waits for his school bus. The kids run around and
laugh and talk. They talk to each other and they talk to me. They tell me about their lives and
they tell me about their favorite things.
I've heard that kids these days don't ride bikes around the neighborhood or get to know their neighbors.
Do you want to hear about David and Savannah next store who always brighten our day when
we get a chance to spontaneously spend time talking on the front lawn? Do you want to hear
about Jonah who just started riding the bus and every day asks to come over to play? Do you
want to hear about the older boy who took my son under his wing and spent half an hour
leading him on a bike ride throughout the neighborhood last night?
I keep hearing these "truths" mentioned in conversation as though they are fact. The certainly aren't facts in my life. Want people to be neighborly? Be a neighbor. It's just that easy.
Libby, I totally agree. There aren't many little kids in my neighborhood (my husband and I joke that we live in a retirement community). But we know all of the ones who did live around us and my son loves to run and play with them whenever they are out. When the weather permits, my son and I walk around the neighborhood (or he rides his tricycle next to me) and we meet and chat with people all the time, especially people with other kids. People just need to get off their couch and go outside and be a neighbor. I think a lot of parents nowadays make a concerted effort to get their kids outside and away from the electronic devices.
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