Think Before You Speak

Dear Ms. Art Teacher,

You teach junior high kids, so I'm sure you know they can be mean, petty little creations who think nothing of tearing down each other's self esteem. You also know that my daughter has a birth defect that makes my daughter look a little different than everyone else, something that kids are not generally kind about. Self esteem is very important, surely you know this too. So, I'm absolutely baffled as to why you felt the need to ask my child if she'd bothered to brush her hair before coming to school and why you felt the need to do it in front of the whole class. She was mortified.

I saw her hair this morning, I assure you she brushed it. Admittedly, she needs to have it trimmed up because the back is being a little bit hard to manage. She was already bothered by this and was trying to keep it looking okay with bobby pins, which had fallen out by the time she arrived at your class. See? Simple explanation. She hadn't spiked it our dyed it or done anything to purposely make her hair a distraction. I've seen her have a bad hair day, at it's worst it wouldn't distract a classroom full of kids, but I'm willing to bet your public humiliation of her got more of it's fair share of attention.

One might say I am taking this a little too seriously, but I'm not. This child has been treated differently by her peers all her life. I've held her in an effort to comfort her for hours and dried countless tears. Why would a mature woman, a grandmother, not think before opening her mouth? Why make it harder when she goes through phases when she despises going to school because of the way she's treated?

I hope you are proud of yourself,

One Ticked Mama

Before you speak THINK: 

T = Is it true? 
H = Is it helpful?
I = Is it inspiring?
N = Is it necessary? 
K = Is it kind? 

Thank You for Making a Difference

Self esteem has been a big topic around here lately. I have dealt with low self esteem since childhood. I was too short, too fat, not pretty enough, didn't have the right clothes, I could go on and on. It is not as bad now that I'm an adult, but I still have to work on it.

Now, Ashley is at the age that self esteem is becoming a big thing for her. I think it is harder for her, because of her hemifacial microsomia, her face doesn't look like everyone else. We don't notice it so much, but other people sure do. When you look at her in a mirror, that is when you see it the most. About two weeks ago is when Ashley realized how pronounced it looks in her reflection. That, combined with a little boy who will not sit near her in reading class who calls her a monster, have really shock her self esteem. Between cruel kids, peer pressure, and the media, our girls get attacked from all sides with what being beautiful means.




So, as Mom, I need to help build her up and help her to be strong, teach her about real beauty, and empower her to love herself. But, how do I do that?

Thanks goodness for Dove and their awesome Campaign for Real Beauty. The Dove Self-Esteem Fund was established to inspire and educate girls about a wider definition of beauty and is committed to reaching 5 million girls globally by 2010 with self-esteem programming. Thanks to the support of influential women globally, Dove has already reached 2 million girls and conducted nearly 2,700 educational self-esteem workshops since 2006. This fall Dove launched the "Thank you for Making a Difference" program to thank supporters for building girl's self esteem and to invite everyone to share their stories about making a difference in self esteem. Check out this video for more information on Dove's fantastic self esteem workshops.



Their website is chock full of information to help you talk to and empower the girls in your life. I was very impressed with the amount of resources they offer. I am also very impressed with Dove's commitment to this issue, how many beauty companies tell us we are already beautiful? You can help support the Dove Self-Esteem Fund by simply purchasing Dove products, then entering the UPC here, and select a charity. You can choose from Girl Scouts, Boys and Girls Clubs of America and Girls Inc.

Thank you, Dove. Thank you for helping us empower our girls and thank you for trying to broaden everyone's definition of beauty.

The thoughts and opinions in this post are entirely my own. I will be receiving Dove product and True You! Workbooks from Dove. These items have in no way influenced this post.