It was nice to read this article below about how volunteering in a lunchroom can really change the life of a nine year old.
It's sad to think that nine year old girls are suffering from low self esteem. Luckily this woman overheard them and decided to do something about it. Her encouraging words could make all the difference in whether a child grows up to be a confident teen or one with a low self esteem and all the problems that come with it.

Copyright Hearts at Home 2008, used with permission.

From My Heart to Yours

Everything I ever needed to know, I learned volunteering in our elementary school lunchroom. Well, maybe I didn't learn everything, but I certainly learned more than I ever expected when I signed up.

There were the easy lessons--not one kid eats cooked carrots served in the hot lunch. However, if you don't watch them close enough, they do use the carrots and their straws to make some pretty big messes.

There were the fun lessons--kids love ketchup smiley faces made on their burgers. And, once you make one smiley face, you will make 300 more. And, a few kids will not be satisfied with smiley faces, but will expect the ketchup equivalent of the Sistine Chapel on their plate.

But, then there were the hard lessons. Who knew that low self-esteem started so early? Early in the year, I was shocked when I heard a group of fourth grade girls discussing what they didn't like about themselves. They were all beautiful nine year olds, who thought they were ugly, overweight, and stupid. I remembered feeling like that as a teenager, but not at nine!

Instead of worrying about the decibel level in the cafeteria, I decided my time was better spent talking to that particular group of girls about what it really means to be beautiful. The rest of the year, I tried to spend time with those girls and others like them while they ate (except when I had to get up to open milk cartons--a skill I sadly never perfected). Maybe it was because they had spent the whole morning quietly learning, but they seemed very willing to chat about things at lunch. I talked to the kids about many topics, and I encouraged them to try new things, to see what they enjoyed and might be good at.

I decided to carry those conversations over at home, too. At home, I had been too focused on regulating the decibel level at the dinner table. When I realized my kids were getting older and weren't immune to those negative feelings, I realized it was important to let them talk. From that group of fourth grade girls, I learned the most valuable lesson about mealtime, whether at home or at school. More important than what kids eat or how much, is the things they talk about while they are eating.

Keeping Hearts at Home,
Patti Welander
Wife to Jim and Mom to James, Sam, Sarah, and Sarina