Why Kids Are Smarter Than Adults

One of the kids at my Monday site is dealing with a lot of bullying, both in school and during the after-school care program. He has Asperger's, so it is difficult for him to understand why kids are picking on him specifically. One child in particular likes to shout "Raise your hand if you want [child with Asperger's] to die!" and then raises his hand. Sometimes other kids will join in, mostly just because they copy people raising their hands, rather than because they agree with the statement.

Anyway, these bullying tactics are very hurtful to my friend, and he was talking to me about how it's hard not to have friends his own age. I said, "You are a wonderful kid, and you don't deserve to be treated that way."

He looked at me in astonishment and said, "No one deserves that."

And he was right. Even the bully wouldn't deserve to hear other kids saying they wished he would die. No kid should have to listen to that. So, as usual, a 7-year-old taught me a life lesson. Then we pretended to be robots.