“Teenage boy at skate park.”

I actually had to convince her that skateboarding wasn’t for just for boys.

“This quote from the article. Yeah, badass mom.”

PHOTO: A Cambridge mom is thanking a teen at a skate park after taking the time to show her daughter the ropes

News Article goes into it a bit more

“He reaffirmed that anybody can skateboard, and any fear she had going into the skate park, he took that away because the boys all of the sudden weren’t scary, they were helpful,” said Thomas. “This new task that she wanted to try, she was able to accomplish because he helped her.”

Another Article with an interview with the boy.

“I could tell that she had no idea how to properly stand on the board,” he told the Times in an interview Wednesday (Oct. 21). “Right before she went, I went up to her and said, ‘Put your feet here and bend your knees – this is how you balance’.”

His offer to help was a mere gesture of kindness, and thoughtfulness regarding how it would feel to be in the little girl’s shoes.

“I went up there just simply to be nice,” explained Carney. “If I didn’t know what the heck I was doing, and I was in a place that could be intimidating at that age, I’d want someone to help me.”

It doesn’t take much to be a bro, just a little bit of your time to help someone in need

It was initially circulated via Twitter, then appeared in the Cambridge Times.

You’re probably about 15 years old, so I don’t expect you to be very mature or for you to want a little girl on your skate ramp for that matter.

What you don’t know is that my daughter has been wanting to skateboard for months. I actually had to convince her that skateboarding wasn’t for just for boys.

So when we walked up to the skate park and saw that it was full of teenaged boys who were smoking and swearing, she immediately wanted to turn around and go home.

I secretly wanted to go too because I didn’t want to have to put on my mom voice and exchange words with you.

I also didn’t want my daughter to feel like she had to be scared of anyone, or that she wasn’t entitled to that skate park just as much as you were.

So when she said, “Mom it’s full of older boys,” I calmly said, “So what, they don’t own the skate park.”

She proceeded to go down the ramp in spite of you and your friends flying past her and grinding rails beside her.

She only had two or three runs in before you approached her and said “Hey, excuse me …”

I immediately prepared to deliver my “She’s allowed to use this park just as much as you guys” speech when I heard you say, “Your feet are wrong. Can I help you?”

You proceeded to spend almost an hour with my daughter showing her how to balance and steer, and she listened to you a feat not attained by most adults.

You held her hand and helped her get up when she fell down and I even heard you tell her to stay away from the rails so that she wouldn’t get hurt.

I want you to know that I am proud that you are part of my community, and I want to thank you for being kind to my daughter, even though your friends made fun of you for it.

She left the skate park with a sense of pride and with the confidence that she can do anything, because of you.

Jeanean Thomas
Cambridge

Bonus: Waylon Lewis:
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Relephant bonus:

How to be happy: