As parents, we want to teach our kids good morals, but as we mold them into kind individuals, we should also learn to listen to them.
Sometimes, we could learn a thing or two from these tiny humans.
Last October 2021, Justice Smith, along with his 5-year-old son, Justus Mateo, were driving back from their dentist appointment when they saw a homeless man on the median strip.
Smith wanted to help the homeless man but realized that he didn’t have any cash with him, so he decided to nod and greet the man, thinking he’d help the next time he had cash.
Unbeknownst to Smith, his little son, Justus, was watching.
The little boy, who just turned five, pulled out 30 cents from his pocket and told his dad to give it to the homeless man.
“Uncoached, he insisted that I give the man the 30 cents he had in his pocket,” Smith wrote on his Facebook. “It’s almost as if he heard my thoughts and responded out loud.”
As a father, Smith was so happy to see his little boy show such a kind gesture, but seeing the 30 cents, he paused. He was hesitant to give the 30 cents to a homeless man, who obviously, needed more.
“I didn’t want to give this man who clearly needed all the help he could get, just 30 cents. My own pride and thoughts of the homeless individual’s unknown reaction to receiving just two coins were standing in the way,” Smith continued the story.
He admitted that he thought the homeless man would get offended with the 30 cents.
Then it hit him, he was the problem in this simple situation.
At any moment, the traffic light would turn green, and they would lose the chance to give the 30 cents. So many thoughts ran through his head, and he had to stop.
He reminded himself that his adorable son was watching him and that he was setting an example.
“Dude get over it. This is what we’ve been teaching him and now that he wants to give everything he has to offer in this moment, you’re going to let your personal self-centeredness ruin a possibly life-long, great memory and solid teaching moment?” he reminded himself.
Justice decided he should be a good example, so he allowed his son to hand the 30 cents.
He then rolled down his car window and handed the 30 cents to the man waiting. He said he was sorry because they didn’t have cash and that his son was really happy to give everything he had, and that’s the 30 cents.
Justice was worried that the man would frown and feel offended. But every negative thought in his head disappeared when he saw the man smile.
“God bless you little man! Thank you so much!”
The homeless man looked at Justus and thanked him. The little boy smiled back, proud of what he had done.
Justice was in awe!
Justus’s act of pure kindness caused so much positivity that even after the traffic light turned green, the people behind them rolled their windows and offered to help the man too.
There he was, still in disbelief. He even thought they would hear shouting and honking because it was rush-hour traffic.
Everything that happened was unexpected, thanks to this little boy who taught everyone, especially his father, a lesson.
“I almost taught him that pride was more important than helping another human in need,” Justice explained in his post.
Justice shared this realization with all of us, and he has a point.
Sometimes, we could learn from our own kids.
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