This is a sponsored post written by RedRover.org.
Do you save worms that are on the sidewalk after it has rained? Do you relocate spiders instead of squashing them? Have you ever swerved to avoid a dog or cat while you are driving on the street? Do you have a pet dog or a cat at home?
What is the difference between the value of these animals’ lives, and when do children begin to organize their thinking about which beings should be saved?
One day after a rainfall, I went on a “worm walk” with a six-year-old boy who was very interested in worms. We spotted a worm wriggling on the damp sidewalk in front of us. The little boy asked me how the worm will get back to the dirt. “How do you think it will get there?” I responded. “He will crawl,” the boy said, but then he stopped, looked back down at the worm and asked in the most innocent voice, “But what if he dries out on the way?” Days earlier he had seen a dried worm and this had petrified him (the boy, not the worm — well, the worm too but that is not the point here). In this moment, this six-year-old boy was organizing his thinking about how to save the worm.
How we respond to questions and situations that involve the value of life and treating all life with respect helps shape how our children will treat others and what value they will place on others’ lives. Worms, dogs, other people — all life.
There are tools that parents and teachers can use to help children understand others. The new e-book app from RedRover, The Restricted Adventures of Raja, is not about saving worms in particular, but it is about saving animals and can help children recognize the value of life. This interactive, bilingual (Spanish/English) app offers many surprising benefits, as the e-book’s main characters must work together to save the world. Along the way they learn positive relationships with humans and animals, animal body language, perspective-taking lessons and compassion skills. Plus, kids and parents can use the e-book and game together as a shared reading experience, drawing from the thoughtful questions that are built right into the app, or your child can use the app on their own.
Will you think about saving sidewalk worms and other animals after using this app and sharing questions with your child? Your child likely will.
