“You stink,” the man shouted at a Nats player on the field from the row of bleachers behind us. Seeming like normal fan behavior, I hardly even noticed. However, the soon-to-be 3rd grader sitting beside me was bothered by the comment and she felt compelled to lean over to me and say in a whisper, “Ms. D, that man just shouted YOU STINK at one of the men down there.” I responded with an understanding, “Yes.” She continued with a compassionate tone, “Maybe you weren’t there that day but at Kids Club we talked about words that win and words that lose. What that man behind us just said are words that lose. That’s what we would call trash talk and I don’t think God would be very happy about him talking like that.” We finished the conversation by discussing more appropriate ways to talk to someone if you are disappointed in them. It was yet another learning experience for me, receiving teaching from a child. She was taking the lesson from Kids Club and applying it to her life across the board, without exception. How often we see a slip of the tongue as no big deal, especially when those we are targeting are famous or have no clue who we are. Yet it is important to always speak with words that win and are useful in the building up of others.
Kids Club Final Event for 2009-2010 School Year