Labels only serve to generalize groups of people so as to limit how we judge them and how they will see themselves.From the time my son could walk and talk I have only seen him, and treated him as an adult who doesn't have the same life experience as I.He is now and has always been a well adjusted and independent person.He's learned he is the only one to blame if things don't work out.Excuses are for people who don't really try.When he was 4 years old he would talk with my peers only to have them comment on how intelligent he was.Which in turn would make me think,''how do your children talk?''After witnessing them converse with them did I realise that they would talk down to them.Believe me children are not stupid, quite the contrary they learn at an astonishing rate when they are developing.If my son couldn't grasp what I was trying to say, I would take the time to explain it so he would understand.When he was in grade 1, my wife and I were called in to meet with the principal who informed us of a problem with our child and the way he interacts with the teachers.He then informed us he didn't speak like the other children but conversed more like an adult and would challenge the teacher if something they were saying didn't quite make sense to him.By questioning things from an early age,he developed into a person that won't take anything at face value and will not act unless he is knowledgeable about the matter at hand.In this day and age that is a most important thing to have.I have never tried to put my child through any situation just because I believe or society believes that it's the way it has to be. I told him he owes it to himself and everyone to educate himself of the problem and when he understands it and the ramifications,make a well informed decision.The world is changing at an amazing rate and I firmly believe that parents alone are responsible for the way their offspring behave.We have to realize that the way we were raised will not serve our children well,especially if we just fill them with the same ignorance and prejudice that was maybe part of our growing up.The only way we can make this world a better place is with our children and how they will percieve it.Don't worry, they can't do any worse than we have.

Learn more about this author, Don Bregg.
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