“Before he even stepped foot into his new classroom, a child on the playground came up to him. At age 5, my son had to come home and tell our family this as we sat around the dinner table. I had to look away so he wouldn’t see my tears.”
‘You don’t belong here and your color is awful!,’ a child said to my 5-year-old African American son on his first day of school.’: Mom worries for her adopted children at school this year, says despite ‘all the goodness, there is hurt’
‘I’m nervous leaving my kid with a stranger. This year may be tough for him.’: Mom hopes son’s teacher will ‘be patient’ with her, she’s still ‘learning to let go’
“My biggest fear is that he will get labeled the ‘bad kid’ in his class. Actually, if I’m being honest – my biggest fear is that he will start to believe he actually is a bad kid. I’m nervous about mean kids. I’m nervous he could become one of the mean kids.”
‘I only bought 2 backpacks instead of 3. I naively thought I was ready. But grief proved me wrong.’: Mom feels ‘paralyzed’ while back-to-school shopping after losing son to drowning accident
“I let down my guard, slammed with the sudden realization he is gone. My daughters stood on the edge of the balcony and watched as the world ended, watched as their parents begged to trade places with their little brother. He slipped away from us, down a spiral staircase, and fell into the pool.”
‘We are not your ‘typical’ family. We are white parents with a black child.’: Mom sends heartfelt letter to teacher ‘advocating’ for her black son this school year
“Eli is usually the only black student in his classroom. We are not a ‘colorblind’ family. Eli’s hair is a big part of who he is and how he expresses himself. Please don’t let anyone touch it without his permission. Please provide him with colored paper, pencils or markers that represents his skin color. Not many teachers in our small town think about this subject.”
‘Dear teacher, I need to apologize for my wife and I. We are going to be knee-deep in your business.’: Self-proclaimed ‘helicopter parent’ pens touching letter about why he’s overprotective of son with congenital heart disease
“His lips get blue when he’s cold, but he’s ok. I have watched his heart stop, 3 times. If you ever have to change his shirt, you’ll see the proof. Be cautious with how the other kids discuss it. He’s proud of it now – but if you let another kid steal that pride, you’ll hear our parental helicopter blades ripping through the air.”
‘We lost a beautiful woman. She was a wife and mother. She was kind, upbeat, smiling, and generous.’ Mom reminds women to ‘check on the mom wearing lipstick’ after losing friend to postpartum depression
“She ran circles around the rest of us, volunteering, coordinating and simply ‘making things happen.’ I, like many, were surprised when her death announcement addressed her struggle with postpartum depression. Her social media portrayed happiness and perfection, never indicating she was suffering.”
‘When he turned a year old, he couldn’t sit up. He didn’t play with toys. He was essentially a newborn. He kept his left hand clenched, and his entire left side was tight.’
“I’ll never forget the words he said. ‘Knowing what his brain looks like, I can’t believe he is talking like this.’ I went to my car and cried. I cried tears of joy and tears of relief. And if I’m being honest, a few tears of fear. By early May, it was confirmed.”
‘My 30-year-old husband who was never sick, was constantly downing Pepto Bismol. He started eating less than me. He was missing work, which he never did. I knew something wasn’t right.’
“My phone rang. It was him. He just said, ‘They found something, but I don’t want to tell you today. I don’t want to ruin your Christmas Eve.’ My daughter wrapped her arms around my neck.”
‘Step right up!’ my teacher said. I half shook my head no, turning pink. I slowly rose, my legs glued together. The floodgates opened. I was 5 feet from the board when someone shouted, ‘OH MY GOD!’
“Queue the tears. Oh, those embarrassing tears. I was mortified. I’d never been given the period talk. My parents were too uncomfortable to explain. And to make matters worse… you guessed it. I was wearing white jeans. WHITE. I never expected what would happen next. Not in a million years.”
‘I was cussed out by parents who wanted to attend field trips but missed the THREE notes that went home. When they did attend a trip, they sat on their phone the entire time. The filter comes off now.’
“I’ve had parents tell me I’m not allowed to tell their child ‘no.’ Watching them come in… dirty clothes… chaos at home… and knowing they need more than you can give them in a classroom of 21, with less and less support, multiple languages spoken, several different disabilities… it breaks you.”
