But why Mum?

Interesting discussion in the car on the way home from Crossfit with Peyton (nearly six) and Hunter (just turned four) about Anzac day and why we have it. Me trying to explain the concept of war and hatred to two little boys who just couldn’t fathom that one man would hate people so much he would want to kill them for being different.

It sort of went like this:

Me “Tomorrow is Anzac day so Daddy has a day off work.”

P “What’s Anzac Day?”

M ” Well a very long time ago there were a couple of big wars that lasted a few years and New Zealand sent soldiers over to fight in the wars and we remember those soldiers who died”

P “Why was there a war?”

(to be honest I don’t know much about world war 1 but I do know about world war 2)

M “There was a bad man called Hitler and he only liked people that had white skin and believed in what he believed in, he killed people that didn’t have white skin.”

P “but why Mum?”

M “because he was a bad man and only wanted people to be the same as him”

P “but why?”

M “because he didn’t like people who were different, he didn’t like people like J who is part chinese or his family, or like Coach Carli who has brown skin.”

P “Oh. *thinks for a bit* what colour is my skin?”

M “Look at your arms and tell me.”

P “I don’t know but it’s not white. The chalk on your hands is white.

 

And somewhere mixed in that conversation Hunter compared soldiers to superheroes.

 

My sons cannot understand that other people don’t like people because of their religion, their beliefs, the colour of their skin. It is completely foreign to them. They don’t see colour they just see people. I guess I can thank having being raised in Auckland they see different cultures all around them all the time. They have gone to the Otara Markets and seen an array of diversity there, their kindy’s, sports teams, music groups, our family friends are full of people of different races and religions. It’s just what they live.

Everyone could learn from my sons – kindness and love is what matters most in the world. I am proud to call them my sons.