" And... your point is...?"

[SoSiWe]

Maybe I'm just a little emotional today...but that made me cry! I'm glad you guys had a great trip. We are getting excited!!!

 

[stitch'sgirl]

I want to thank you so much for sharing your story. It made my day. Kudos for you for taking your kids on great vacations too! I'm a director at an accredited child development center. My staff work so very hard every day and don't hear too many thanks. Unfortunately there are always a few parents that are quite frankly looking for something to go wrong so that they can complain about something. Thank goodness they are in the minority. But you would think I would be extra picky about the kids' clubs. I have had nothing but great experiences with the every single staff person. I hope they hear about your story, and I certainly hope they hear more positive feedback than negative. It's a tough job for sure! I read on another post that all of the people working in the kids' clubs were the ones that couldn't get any other job on board. I don't think so!! I swore off the boards for a while after reading that one!!

 

[cakesnjammom]

heart warming story! so glad you shared! I have to toot my ds on this one...he is so accepting of others and it really is a breath of fresh air...he thinks of others feelings.....now dd on the other hand will point out all of our differences and since I am FLUFFY she does not hesitate and I am really trying to teach her to think of others feelings before she speaks!

 

[Michele325]

That made me cry! My 4 year old was born with cleft. The counselors were awesome with him too. He is also adopted and has issues trusting new people, I really should have wrote a letter with how wonderful they were with him.

 

[LindaBabe]

THANK YOU for this positive thread! What a PERFECT response! (I'll have to remember that one, it may come in handy.)

 

[Kimberly Hill]

What a wonderful thing to share! Kudos to the counselor

 

[kritter]

Glad, that you had a nice time. What a great story. Your kids sound WONDERFUL!!

You should email DCL and let them know what a positive experience you have had!!

 

[njdisneymom811]

What a lesson in life - for children and adults alike. Thank you for sharing your story with all of us - God bless...

 

[seashell724]

That almost brought tears to my eyes.
So magical.

 

[FirstTimeCruiser]

Wow, what a heartwarming story! I'm speechless... some counselors are truly special and that counselor is one of them. Thanks for posting this...

 

[brewcrew]

Awesome! We all need to hear wonderful stories like this! Glad you and your family enjoyed the cruise!

 

[croppincolburn]

That's a great story. Thanks for sharing. I worked with preschoolers at my church for a *long* time. Which is amazing because when I am at anything Disney I am only 29. LOL Preschoolers notice things. That is all they really are doing. Not criticizing or judging. So I usually answered a simple "yes" or "it is" or something like that. I'll have to add the CM's response to my list, especially for slightly older kids.

 

[mb1976]

I'm glad you had such a great experience. It certainly make me feel more comfortable about leaving my kids on the clubs. I had been reading about some fairly negative experiences. I think her response was alright. After thinking about it, of course these things come to mind when you have time to think, I might have said "If you look closely everyone's face is different." Of course I'm not that quick witted and who knows what I would have said when blindsided with the comment. I hope you get to go back and have another great time.

 

[WeGoDisney04]

Amen

 

[sing4joy]

I'm glad you had such a great experience. It certainly make me feel more comfortable about leaving my kids on the clubs. I had been reading about some fairly negative experiences. I think her response was alright. After thinking about it, of course these things come to mind when you have time to think, I might have said "If you look closely everyone's face is different." Of course I'm not that quick witted and who knows what I would have said when blindsided with the comment. I hope you get to go back and have another great time.

Thank you! I'm actually online now looking at some May dates to hopefully plan our return

You know, I believe what impressed me so much about the counselor's response, was not necessarily in his word choice, but most definitely in the way he delivered them. We all know that the phrase " And your point is.." can come across as sarcastic or defensive, depending on the tone (if my daughter ever chose to try this response on me when I tell her "your room's a mess" I will certainly not be smiling!) But I appreciate that he found a simple way to basically agree, "yes, he looks different," but also say, "it's all good here"

I agree with you that after a moment passes, you can often come up with so many ways you could to have responded.. For me, choosing the best response for these unique situations can be a challenge. As someone mentioned, we know children are naturally curious and will typically ask when they see something out of the ordinary. I'm never offended by a curious mind and in this case, it sure didn't sound like this child was trying to be hurtful, just curious.

Sincere thanks to you all for taking the time to read and respond. It's wonderful to be able to share the story and feel as though you celebrate this sweet experience with me

 

[mb1976]

I know what you mean about the curious minds issue. I have acute intermittent porphyria and have been asked from everything about vampirism to my wife being asked if I'm psycotic. But, I guess that's what happens when what you have is rare and you know more about it than your doctor does. : Oh, I forgot to mention that, yes, God is great!

 

[inkkognito]

That was such a perfect response.

I'm a professional counselor and so many times I try to explain to clients that if they don't make a big deal out of something, others won't take it as a big deal. They tend to respond as they see you or others respond. That counselor modeled the perfect behavior and attitude: "So what?" And the other child learned that differences are not a big deal in a simple but effective way.

 

[jblrn2b]

Thanks for sharing your story. It always has amazed me how the counselors handle things in the clubs so that all kids are happy - this is on of the reasons we always cruise DCL.