A.I. Can’t Make Your Child a Friend…
I was a very shy child and it was difficult for me to talk to others when I was young. I was often silent and/or quiet. My mom always said, I only talked when I had something to say. And, for the first many years of my life, I just didn’t have much to say, I guess. As you can imagine, this made it difficult to make friends. Luckily, between my cat, my sister, and my cousins, and imaginary friends, I didn’t seem to require much more. Until Kindergarten.
On the first day of Kindergarten, my dad demonstrated the easiest way to make a friend… I remember it like it was yesterday.
He and I walked up to Mrs. West’s Kindergarten classroom and everyone was waiting in what seemed like an enormous hallway. While, I was in fact one of the smallest kids, everything was big to me. Including this mass of kids also waiting in line to enter the KINDERGARTEN. Even the name seemed huge to me.
Anyway, my Dad somehow found another little girl, he approached her with that Dad charisma and he said to her, “What your name?” She said, “Melissa”. Then he said, “Melissa, this is Shannon.” I probably smiled (maybe). That’s it.
My dad said bye, he’s not one for nostalgia. And, I stood next to Melissa and she to me. And, we were friends from that moment on. We knew each other’s names and that was really all we needed.
I was reminded of this scenario when last week, I happened to be in Amsterdam (yay) and I was solo on a Walking Food and Cultural Tour. As the tour guide, Barni, was greeting each participant and asking them where they were from, etc… I saw an older woman and her husband walking up to our group. She walked right up to me and said in a beautiful Australian accent, “Hi, I’m AnnMarie, what’s your name?” Well, you can imagine, the rest of the 3 hour tour was a delight with AnnMarie as my new friend. By the end the tour, we lingered in a Brown Cafe sharing stories.
Our children are growing up in unprecedented times of lack of human connection and sometimes without a parent or caregiver who can help them make sense of the enormity of the world. I can imagine now the many Kindergarten hallways where if a child is lucky enough to have a parent walk her in, that parent would be somehow distracted by their phone. Either, getting the all important First Day of School pic to share on social media, or answering a work text. Trust me, I know my Dad, if he had a smart phone when I was little, he would’ve been distracted by it! LOL! These phones trouble me. I know I struggle often to not escape in it that little constant companion. In fact, it’s the only way I see Melissa now, the occasional Facebook update. My dear very first friend. I haven’t reached out to her in years.
When I find myself questioning Wonder Studio and should I keep this small little business going or maybe move on to something else? I remember how having your caregiver or parent right by your side as you traverse this big world, is priceless. Help your child to make a friend, if they need it. Show them how to build a tower, teach them how to ask for a turn. Encourage them to ask the teacher a question. These are little things that make a huge difference.
By Shannon Lipan (NOT A.I.)
Pictured below at 7 years old, couldn’t find a Kindergarten pic.
