Musings: In a world where my children can be anything, I just want them to be kind

We all have dreams for our children.

We hope that they will do well in school. That they will be successful. That they will find happiness and love in their lives. Some parents have very big dreams and aspirations for their children hoping that they will have fame and fortune. My hopes for my children are not so ambitious. In fact they are quite humble. I'll be happy with whatever my children decide to do with their lives as long as they can be one thing. As long as they can be kind. Kindness is often underrated in this day and age but it's something we all need in abundance. With more and more young people becoming influenced by what they see online and on TV, as well as the rise in cyber bullying, kindness is the cure to a lot of toxicity that we allow in society. I'm not really bothered if my child isn't top in their class. Don't get me wrong if they are genuinely struggling at school I'll do everything that I can to help, but if their a straight C student I'd be ok with that. On the other hand it would bother me if I found our that they were being cruel to another child at school. Being bullied myself the entire time I was at school I know how long it can take for the scars to heal. I know how it feels to be left out. To be unwanted. To feel like you're the only person in the world without a friend. I want my children to be people that include others. To be sweet to the shy child and compassionate to those who have learning or other difficulties that they can't help. I want my children to stand up for those they see being bullied, because sometimes being kind means being brave. Sometimes being kind even means going against your friends. The world can be a hard place but it shouldn't have to be, especially for our children. If we all spent more time caring about people rather than caring about doing better than the next person we might all find the road through life a little less rough. My children are free to be whoever they want to be. I won't put any big ambitions on them. The only thing that I wish for them is to be one simple thing. Kind.