And anyway, who are "they"? Ok, so they say that a child's self esteem, sense of self, (and all that other stuff that basically means when your kid knows other kids are treating them different) doesn't come until about 4 years old. I think this is a bunch of bull. However, my sweet girl who is now 19 months old is still unaware of her difference. At least I think.
Yesterday at the swimming pool two little girls gathered around her. They were just staring at her. And, they were really CLOSE. (I have no idea where their mother was.) I was getting pretty annoyed, and close to telling them to beat it when out of no where Sam sticks her little hand out and starts waving at them. "Hi girls" "Hi" "Hi girls". And then... she puts her hand on her sweet little chest and says "I Sami" "I Sami". Wow. First of all, I have never had a baby who was so friendly. And second of all Wow - here were these two girls just staring at her birthmark and not smiling and all she wanted to do was make friends. Then one of the girls asked her how old she was and she held up one tiny, little finger. :) So, I think maybe now they will see her as a friend, a normal little girl. But, then I see it... one of the girls raises her hand to Sam's face and touches her birthmark. (FYI, not babies - they said they were 4 years old). So, Sam and I both ignored this. However, the little girl came back to do it again. And, just as I was about to tell her not to touch her, please...guess what happened?!?! My teeny, tiny girl yelled very loudly NO and pushed this girl away from her. Hmmm... I wasn't sure what to think/do. So, I just watched. And, this stubborn little girl came back a third time to try and touch Sam's birthmark. And, again, my sweet faced little angel yelled NO and gave her another push. ha! Wow. So, instead of high-fiving Sam and telling her how absolutely cool she was I simply said to the other little that Sam did not like her touching her and then picked my baby up and walked away. I'm still in a little bit of shock over it all. And, I'm feeling a little guilty. Yes, the other little girl was a child. Yes, she had no idea what Sam's birthmark was and I'm sure she was confused. However, where was her Mother? Isn't it her Mother's job to help her daughter learn about these things? And, what the heck? Sam already pushed you and said no - don't come back for more. :) I don't know. Do I want Sam to push everybody who does something like that - of course not. But, do I want her to stand up for herself and not let anyone get her down? Heck yes!
I don't know. Could I have handled it differently? Sure. But, in reality I didn't need to handle it at all. Apparently my "aww, she's so tiny" girl can hold her own.
