10 Moments From This Week That Prove Superheroes Are Just Kids With Big Hearts (June 1–7 Edition)

My 4 y.o. son has Down syndrome. Last Friday at the grocery store, a little girl kept staring at him so intensely that he got overwhelmed and started crying. Her dad quickly apologized and pulled her away. But right before leaving, she suddenly sprinted back toward us, shoved something into my son’s hand, then ran outside again.
When I opened his fist, I was shocked. She had slipped one of those tiny plastic dinosaur rings kids get from vending machines into his hand. Afraid he might put it in his mouth, I quickly took it away.
A few moments later, her dad returned with the little girl and told her to apologize. She quietly did. Then he awkwardly explained, “Her little brother died last year. She used to give him those whenever he got scared in public.” He looked embarrassed for a second before softly adding, “I think she thought your son needed one too.”

My son came home from school with only one shoe. He walked in wearing a sock on one foot and acted like this was normal.
Turns out, the other shoe was on the foot of a kid from the younger class. His own shoe had ripped during recess, and he was walking around with his toes sticking out. My son said the kid was embarrassed, so he gave him one shoe “until home time.”
I asked why only one. He looked at me like I had failed a basic test and said, “Because I still needed to walk too.”

After tucking my kids into bed, I went to lie down in my own bed. 10 minutes later, my 6-year-old daughter walks up to my bedside, and I can see her face... The face she makes when she is about to start crying mixed with intense sadness.
My husband throws her in our bed with us after asking if she wanted to sleep here, and I just cuddled her and stroked her gently while she cried. After some time, she did not calm down, so I softly told her, “If you want, you can tell me what is bothering you, and we can talk about it.”
She then led me downstairs to the living room couch for privacy, where she told me she accidentally dropped the box of macarons we got. I told her it was okay, and she replied, “Yeah, but you ate one of those.” She told me they all fell on the floor but 1 (which she ate).
She was asking, “What if you get sick?” She mentions her father and brother also ate one, and what if they get sick? She was so worried something was going to happen to us, which is why she was crying.
I assured her everyone would likely be alright, and it was okay, accidents happen, and thanks for telling me. After that, she was finally able to go to sleep.

I lost my job recently. Didn’t tell my kids... just told them I was going to try something new. [They are 8 and 6]. My son, 6, has been talking about his birthday and all the presents he’s going to get since his last birthday.
When I asked him how he would feel if I wasn’t able to get him any presents, he paused and responded with, “It’s ok, Daddy. I appreciate everything you do for me.”

My 13 YO (soon to be official) stepdaughter texted me tonight that she started writing a book. She asked if I would read it and help. She asked me to be her Editor. She said that I have always encouraged her.
That she is a better artist, writer, and creator because of me. That she didn’t want me to think it went unnoticed over the 6 years that I have known her. That I always give her support, and she always comes to me to talk about her life and her passions. That if I hadn’t come into her life 6 years ago, she wouldn’t be as strong as she is, and she believes I helped shape her.
I’m crying the sweetest tears.

My daughter was in Grade 1 at this point. They had a freeze pop sale at school, and kiddo didn’t tell me about it, but she did say a boy bought her one. There was going to be another freeze pop sale next week, so I sent her with extra money this week, telling her she had to buy one for the boy who bought her a freeze pop last week.
Picking her up from school, I asked her, “Did you buy a freeze pop for the boy that got you one?” and she said, “No.” Jumping to conclusions, I was going to go on about how you have to show kindness when it’s shown to you, but she kept saying, “He didn’t want it, so I bought one for a girl who forgot to bring money.”
Kids are paying it forward without even knowing what that is.

My middle son and his buddies made friends with the new kid. The new kid was intellectually impaired. So, my son and his younger brother were getting in the car about to leave when the new kid came running up yelling my son’s name.
My boy got out, gave him a hug, and talked to him for a few minutes. My son was a 5/6th grader. His younger brother kindergarten.
When we left, the younger brother asked why the new kid “talked that way.” I wasn’t sure how my son would handle the question. He is young himself and doesn’t always have the words.
Very proud moment when my son simply told his brother, “He was just born that way.” And the tone he used, I think, helped his brother understand that it’s ok for people to be different.

So I am the coach of my son’s (5) tee ball team. Yesterday, at the end of practice, his good friend got very excited and threw the ball towards my son, and accidentally hit my son in the face.
These aren’t like normal baseballs. They are very soft and squishy. However, it’s still a ball that has mass behind it, and getting hit in the face is not pleasant even for me. My son began to cry, which was okay, I mean, even if it didn’t hurt, which it probably did, the shock was something too.
His friend was also very upset, as I could tell he did not intend for this to happen, and it was just an accident.
So after my son settled down, we talked about it and then started driving home. He saw his friend walking with his mom home, they live close to the ball field. My son asks to stop so he can go talk to his friend.
My son then jumps out of the car and runs to his friend. I don’t know what was said, but he ended up hugging his friend, and he told me he wanted his friend to know that they were still friends and that he knew it was an accident.
My son amazes me on a weekly basis, but seeing him being so empathetic made me so happy. This world is seemingly falling apart, but seeing that small act of empathy and care for another human gave me a little bit of hope for the future.

My 6-year-old asked me to write our address on five pieces of paper. I thought it was for a school activity, so I did it. Then I saw him sliding one into every pair of his rain boots, sneakers, and slippers.
I asked what he was doing. He said, “So they know where to bring me back.” I thought he meant the shoes. Childhood is weird, so who knows?
Later that week, I found out the real reason. A new kid at school had cried because he forgot his apartment number during pickup. Nothing bad happened, but he was scared.
My son decided everyone’s shoes should carry their home, just in case their brain got tired. He gave the boy one of the address papers, too, except he had crossed out our address and written, “Ask my teacher.” Not flawless security. Strong concept.