How do I teach my child that not everyone will be as nice to them as I am?

Me: Honey did I raise you right? Are you happy? Did I do a good job?

My son: You did real well mom except one thing. You didn't prepare me for how mean people could be.

That conversation came up between me and my son about 12 years ago.

Compare it to the conversation I had with my mother when I was 12 years old.

Me: Mom, why is dad so mean to us?

My mother: He's trying to prepare you for the world.

In both conversations, I was left speechless. When my mother said the words she did, I swore I would never do that to my children.

Then when I didn't, and I showed my children what kindness was, it was almost considered a fault in parenting…a type of omission.

That's when I realized there is nothing we can do to prepare our children for cruelness.The world will teach these lessons soon enough. Our children need parents they can always go to, no matter their age, who they can count on for kindness. They don't need a family they fear.

If there is one main message we should instill to our children, it is to set boundaries and to love themselves enough to value their own lives. They should realize they should never tolerate or surround themselves with any person, or group of people, that does not promote and display kindness.

But first, our children should always have a home where kindness was, and is, the greatest example and gift of our love.