Parents know how anxious children can be when school begins, and one of a child’s biggest worries is whether they will make friends.
Lauren and I heard this when we toured primary and nursery schools with our Myrtle the Purple Turtle books. When we visit children from 3 to 11 years old, we don’t just read the books to them: we also listen to their experiences.
Some children told us about being left out. No one wanted to play with them, or “be friends”. Some were made fun of, or bullied by others.
Of course, these things can happen at any time, not just in the first weeks of school. We also know that parents are looking out for their children, themselves anxious about how their child is faring each day.
But there is another thing parents (and other adults who care for children) can do:
Encourage or remind your children to be kind to others, and especially to children who seem to have no friends.
Just as they clearly recalled the painful times they were excluded, the 9, 10 and 11 year old children we met had uplifting stories. They had distinct memories of the classmates who noticed they were excluded and reached out to them.
Some remembered being told they couldn’t join in a game, but also happily remembered the time they were included. And they cherished their memories of the classmates who simply asked “Do you want to be friends?”
Out in the community, we’ve even met adults in their 80’s who remember those incidents from early childhood. Some today say they are still marked by those experiences of being excluded or being befriended.
Every child needs to be included and every child can be a friend to another.
The original Myrtle story was written for Lauren, after an incident at her school when she was almost five years old. But if you were to accompany us on a book tour in schools, you would understand why these issues are so present in our thoughts as we write every new book.
We are passionate about Myrtle’s messages of inclusion, kindness and self-esteem because we see the great need for them — and we see it often.
To order, or learn more about the Myrtle books, please visit: https://myrtlepurpleturtle.wordpress.com/
We are also grateful for this award recognizing Myrtle’s relevance to schools:
Cynthia Reyes 