One Amazing Kid and the Leader He is Becoming | Adventures in Nannyland

I'm a proud nanny these days.

The boy I work with (lovingly referred to as "The Kid" online for his protection) is becoming quite the empathetic and loving soul.  I quickly recognized him as both when I started working with him last summer, and with gentle reinforcement and praise he's showing it proudly more often.  Let me explain with a conversation I shared with the Facebook world last night...

The Kid: some of my friends were really rude today to a girl in my class.
Me: oh? What happened?
The Kid: well she likes a boy but he doesn't like her, so he made up a girlfriend to make her feel bad, then told everyone in class about it and laughed behind her back.
Me: did you laugh?
The Kid: no. I told him he was being a jerk and the best thing he could do was just be honest with her. Then I told her what he was doing and suggested she not like him anymore.
Me: I'm proud of you kid. Sounds like you handled the situation perfectly. That shows good character.
The Kid: yeah, being a good person is the right thing to do.

We discussed it further over dinner, and he chose to text the boy (who happens to be one of his closest friends) and suggested he apologize to the girl.  This was his own idea and he was nervous about the outcome and possible backlash from his friend.  Not five minutes later a reply came through that simply read, "You're right, I'll apologize tomorrow."

I'm so very proud of how The Kid chose to handle this situation.  I smiled at him and asked if he realized what a great leader he is.  He shook his head and said that didn't matter and he wasn't doing it to be a leader, he just doesn't think it's right for someone to be the butt of a joke.
I smiled and said, "and that's why you are a great leader."