Music for Tots

 2021 Mother’s Day Advice

Help your family accept each other’s differences and see the value in people being different.

There is so much discord in the world today. We saw it through the recent election, through the racial tension, and through the pandemic. We still see it with judging others for not wearing a mask, or for wearing a mask, for not liking or liking Biden, or for getting the vaccine or not getting it.

We can also see discord in our family members. Just because you are born in the same family doesn’t mean you like or dislike the same things. Your children have different personalities, likes and dislikes and tastes. But kids rarely give their siblings the freedom to be different from themselves or even see the VALUE of being different.

On Saturday morning, President Nelson said that as he has watched the ongoing renovation of the Salt Lake Temple from his office window, he has thought about “the need for each of us to remove, with the Savior’s help, the old debris in our lives.” He said doing this will enable us to become more worthy and help prepare the world for the Second Coming of the Lord.

“The gospel of Jesus Christ is a gospel of repentance,” he said. “Because of the Savior’s Atonement, His gospel provides an invitation to keep changing, growing and becoming more pure. It is a gospel of hope, of healing and of progress. Thus, the gospel is a message of joy! Our spirits rejoice with every small step forward we take.” (Church Newsroom)

I took this challenge to remove debris in my life and decided to repent of “judging others and to accept their differences”. Of course I’ve been trying to do that my whole life!! In his Sunday morning talk Pres. Nelson also asked us to “increase our faith”. I decided that one way to increase my faith was to add works—faith without works is dead. So in adding works to my faith that I could repent of the debris of judging others, I decided to think of a positive attribute about the thing or person I was judging.

For example, when I was judging a person for being so interested in politics-- that’s all they listened to or talked about, instead of judging them of being obsessed with politics, I thought instead how thankful I was that there were people who were interested in politics so they could be the watch dogs to protect our freedom.

It has been a game changer for me—adding the positive twist of seeing something good so I can accept others’ differences instead of judging them.

I hope you will accept my advice and perhaps have a family home evening lesson about accepting others, speaking specifically about accepting the people in YOUR family who are different from you.

Quiz

Give the following quiz and ask family members which of the things below they like to eat or like to do:

• Chocolate
• Cream cheese
• Guacamole
• Cheese
• Peas
• Get up early
• Stay up late
• Read books
• Write stories
• Play the piano
• Play the guitar
• Hike
• Watch movies
• Play video games
• Have a clean bedroom
• Doesn’t even see the clutter in a room
• Likes to garden
• Likes to ride bikes
• Good at art and likes to draw
• Interested in politics
• Run marathons and ironmans
• Interested in health
• Notices birds and listens to them sing
• Notices other people’s feelings
• Likes to be around people, have lots of friends
• Likes to do things by themselves or with 1-2 friends
• Likes pets
• Doesn’t want a pet

Object Lesson

You could have an object lesson on how people like different things and that’s okay. Suggestions for object lesson:

Buy different flavors of Oreo cookies and taste them to see which ones you like the best.

Terry recently bought several different Oreos and she loves the hazelnut ones the most. I don’t like the taste of hazelnut that much so I didn’t like those Oreos. We’re different but can still get along and love each other.

Buy vanilla ice cream and assorted add ons. Notice how family members choose different ones or different quantities of the add ons according to their tastes.

Buy different flavors of M&Ms.

I like the pretzel ones the best. Which ones do you like?

Chant

Remember: Fair’s not there, so STOP looking for it!

How about saying (in the same sing-songy rhythm):

We are all different and that it okay!

I love you! Mom

Thanks for reading, 

Cathy

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