Dec. 10th is Wear Star Wars to support Katie Day!

Katie Goldman is a cute little first grader and she loves “Star Wars!”
CNN’s reporter Jamie Gumbrecht said that “the force is strong with Katie!”

I felt upset to hear that children would tease and bully Katie because she loved “Star Wars,” but very pleased to hear about the support for Katie, which I’ll tell you more about below.

But first, I want to say:

Bullying and teasing are two things I can’t stand the least.
I’m a big advocate for teaching children (and adults) to be accepting of others.
As a recreational therapist, I provide violence prevention programs, social skills training, empathy building, and other life skills training for children ages (8 to 12).

Back to the story:

Katie had always taken a “Star Wars” water bottle to school when one day her mother noticed that Katie had asked to take a pink one instead.

Katie was in tears when she told her mother that the kids told her that “Star Wars” is only for boys.

Katie;s story went viral. It even made CNN news when her mother Carrie Goldman posted a blog entry with picture of Katie asking for help.

Blogger Jen Yates had empathy for little Katie.

She couldn’t get the thought of her out of her mind.

Yates said she felt isolated in high school for being a “Star Trek” fan. Jennifer Yates blog entry has went viral across the internet and has reached CNN. I think Yates said it best in her blogpost:

“Don't let the scruffy nerf herders get you down. You rock that water bottle with pride, and know that there are thousands of other fans out there (myself included) who would be proud to share a lunch table with you.”

People are encouraged to wear Star Wars on Dec. 10th in support of Katie and anti-bullying. Please donate a Star Wars toy to a local charity for children on this day too.

Here is an amazon link for a children's book that you order and donate to your child's school library:

Are you a teacher, therapist, or parent?

Do you want to teach your child how to be a better person? Of course you do. I doubt a person would want their child to be the bully. My new children's book, Building Character with Sam, Izzy, & Many Other Dogs is a great way to teach your child about accepting others, compromising, having good sportsmanship, being respectful, generous, helpful, empathetic, and more.

You'd like for your child or a child you know to develop and improve these skills, wouldn't you? You like pictures of cute animals don't you? All right then. Just read the book to your child.