Stephanie Skaggs was at a water park in Kentucky last weekend. With her was her autistic five-year-old daughter, Baylee, who was excited about going on the water slide.
Mum Stephanie had just explained to her the concept of queuing and waiting your turn, and was pleased when Baylee accepted it without question.
That changed when, suddenly, other children began skipping the queue, cutting in front of Baylee, who is mostly non-verbal and struggles to handle unexpected change.
“Baylee doesn’t really mind much that she had to wait longer, but she is upset that the steps of the routine she just learned are now out of whack,” Stephanie wrote on a Facebook page that has now gone viral.
“To her, it feels like the end of the world!”
But what happened next wowed Stephanie. A little girl at the front of the queue spotted Baylee getting upset, turned to Stephanie and said “’she can go ahead of me.’
Not long after, someone else cut in front of Baylee. This time, a kind little boy offered Baylee his place at the front.
“I was struck that two different children would be so intuitive and kind,” she wrote.
Delighted by the children’s kindness, Stephanie praised the little boy and girl and told them “how great it was that they looked out for someone who was different….and the difference that small acts of kindness make even if it doesn’t seem like much.”
But Stephanie didn’t stop there.
After realising that the pair were brother and sister, she knew she had to thank their mum too. After all, it’s largely good parenting that results in kind, empathetic children.
Addressing the children’s mum, she wrote: “I made sure to let your kids know how nice it was for them to be kind and understanding, but I wanted YOU to know that you are raising two wonderful children.”
“When I came to you and told you about my experience with your kids and told you that they were super kids and you are doing a great job, you said ‘I don’t know about that.’ Well, mom, you are. A small gesture like theirs may not seem like much. But I promise it was.”
