Stephen and I went to the neighborhood playground yesterday. About half an hour in, a small group of children from a childcare arrived. The youngest looked about three and the oldest around 10 years old. Not knowing who they were, Stephen and I were immediately on guard.

As we were rolling Stephen’s big glittery green superball down the slide, one of the children sidled up to get a better look. I was a little worried that he would snatch the ball out of Stephen’s hand, but I encouraged Stephen to let the boy take a look anyway. Surprisingly, the six-year-old gave it a quick look and returned it almost immediately. From that I could tell he was a nice kid and not a bully.

From then on, he took Stephen under his wing. They kicked and chased a soccer ball around, chatted about their daddies, and climbed on the jungle gym. I was impressed with the boy’s care and thoughtfulness especially considering the big age difference.

But I guess the boy has plenty of experience with younger kids because he has a younger sister of his own. Part of his gentleness might be because it’s in his nature and personality, but I think learning how to take care with a younger sister has a lot to do with it too.

So it made me wonder if Stephen will ever learn to be as caring if he remains a single child. I guess there are many ways of learning how to be considerate and to get along with others. But, having a sibling is one of those 24-hours-a-day neverending constant learning experience.

However it turns out for Stephen on the sibling front, at least I know there are kids out there who will set a fine example for him. Hope we’ll bump into Aaron again sometime.