8-year-old boy helps overwhelmed server at an understaffed restaurant, mom beams with pride: 'I've been trying to teach my kid about kindness and empathy…'

When you start to parent, when do you know if your parenting is working? One mother found out after taking her eight-year-old boy out to eat.

It was just supposed to be a nice little mother-son date out to eat. They went to a local restaurant and ate in peace. Already a huge feat for a parent, because we all know kids can be a little restless in restaurants, even 8-year-olds. But her son was busy observing something. He noticed that their waiter was the only employee on the floor and was very busy. He asked his mom why nobody was helping him and she said that they were probably understaffed and that that often happens at restaurants.

The little boy didn't seem to like that answers, especially when he noticed that some people at tables weren't being very nice to the waiter. The wait time for food to reach them was longer than usual and the waiter was also not as attentive because he was dealing with so much. This made the little boy upset.

So when the waiter came to their table again arms full of plates, he made sure to tell him that he is doing a great job. The waiter was so touched that he put everything down, got on his knees to the boys level, and thanked him and that what he said just made his whole night.

His mom always tries to teach her boy kindness and empathy, but never had a moment to see if her lessons were sticking. Well, in this instance, she was sure of it.

via Unsplash+ (and Annie Spratt)

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We know it's not easy being a parent. There are so many tiny life lessons that you don't even think about until you have a child. At what age were you when your parents taught you to have empathy for the busy waiter? For most of us adults, we had to figure that empathy out on our own. Probably from getting actual work experience at a restaurant. But for this kid, it was his mother teaching him to observe others and have empathy for them.
That is a beautiful thing to teach every child, and many adults to be honest. Empathy and kindness is very important and when you learn it young, you grow up wanting to spread that life lesson around.
Good job, mama!
"My kid's question about our waiter made me realize I'm raising him right"

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via Unsplash+ (and Louis Hansel)

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