I thought this was a great read from the mother of a little girl with Down syndrome.
She wrote:

The other day I picked my son Tyler up from preschool and my daughter Emily had her oxygen on.

A little 4 year old came up to me and said:
“What’s that on your babies face?”

I could see the panic in her mother’s eyes as if she just cursed out loud at me.

I simply replied:
“Oh this is just a little oxygen.
It’s helps her breathe when she’s sick.”

The little girl said, “oh cool!”
And walked away....
It is literally THAT easy!

We teach Tyler:
Some people have blonde hair, some have brown.
Some people have light skin and some have dark skin.
Some people are small and some are large.
Some people have Down syndrome and some people don’t.
Some people eat by mouth and some eat with a tubie.

He doesn’t ask questions anymore.
He just says:
“If everyone was the same, the world would be so boring!”

Please don’t “shush” your child if they ask a question about mine.
Use it as an opportunity to let them know that some people are different and THATS okay!

I always just tell kids (& even some adults) that Emily is just like them, she just needs a little extra help learning how to do things.

Have conversations with your children.
Show them pictures of people In wheelchairs.
Or babies with feeding tubes.
Show them a photo of a female basketball player and a male chef.

Teach them at a young age that it’s okay to be whoever you want to be.
That way, when they meet an Emily, the only question they will ask is, “would you like to play with me?”

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Credits: Emily’s Heart