Self Awareness

While walking through the supermarket during our Saturday (errand) runs, my five year old Ethan is waving, smiling and saying "hello" to everyone we pass...especially other children sitting in the shopping cart, just like him.
 
Some people said "hello"...while others did not. He began to get upset, when he would say hello, but did not get a response.

As a mom, I saw this as a "teaching moment", because although I understood why people were not responding, Ethan was taking it personal. So I told him that when people do not say anything back, it has NOTHING to do with him. His response was, "I just think they don't want to be my friend".

I told him gently... that is not the case. And that most of the people we were passing, probably didn't hear him or expect (a friendly kid like him), to say hello while walking through the supermarket. I also told him that most people are likely in their own world, while shopping for their groceries. So to prove my point... I told him to say/wave hello to a woman we were about to pass, who was picking out some produce.

He said "hi", and the woman kept on shopping, without even a look our way. Once he saw that she was busy, and wasn't just ignoring him, he relaxed. Then he made sure that the next few people he spoke to... didn't have their backs to us or were looking our way. Once he did that, there were still some people who kept walking without speaking, but now he was getting more responses (ie...."hello", "hey little fella", and "hey man"), than he was before. Now, he was smiling.

Lesson learned.