Daughter requests 'extra food' for hungry classmates. Her mom pulls up to class with gifts

Annie Willems boasted of a "proud mom moment" on Instagram while describing her daughter’s stunning emotional competence. Willems, who goes by @annie.willems on Instagram, shared an inspirational account of when her daughter asked to pack extra food in her lunchbox. Initially stunned, her questions uncovered the depths of her daughter's heart and just how well-rounded she was as a human being.

When she first heard of this demand, Willems, caught by surprise, asked her sixth grader, “How can you tell that they don’t have enough food?” Her daughter added, “I can just tell. One of them comes to school in the morning, and he looks really tired. Another boy told me that he didn’t have enough food at his home, and another one is in foster care, and there are a lot of kids at that home; he has not been adopted yet. So, I need to take them food.” Stunned, the mother agreed instantly, nodding with her eyebrows raised in the video. She wasn't expecting this level of maturity from her daughter, especially at 11 years of age.

Good parenting skills are essential to raise a child who is smart and equally thoughtful. Research has shown the various ways one can develop a child’s emotional and cognitive abilities, linking positive parenting with emotional capabilities in children. There is also certain knowledge of attitudes that help foster values in kids’ lives. For Americans, five good parenting themes emerged in a survey by Pew Research. Transferring values and beliefs down the line, focusing on love and relationships with their children, giving importance to religion, behaviour and discipline, and freedom and autonomy.

While there are different ways people parent their children, there is one important value that is common to all — education. For every parent, their kids must get a good education. Some might expect higher grades from their kids, while some are just happy with their child's effort, irrespective of the grade. For Willems, what meant most to her was her daughter’s ability to be and do good. She said, “That child could get straight D’s on her grades, and I would be perfectly okay with that. Because success for me is my children being able to see other people. She wins.”

"Oh, that girl of mine. Who also told me today that my haircut is ugly. She can’t be ALL sweet," Annie humoured in the caption of the video. People shared their views in the comment section, "While this is amazing, this is why free breakfast & free lunch should be for every child in public schools. Children do not learn on empty stomachs," said @sarell0880. @_eva4eva praised, "We love your daughter! She doesn’t go to school to follow orders. She’s aware of the people around her, which makes her a great human; grades don’t identify someone’s intelligence, empathy, but action does." Another user @marungersauer commented, "Your daughter is an A++ human being! The world needs more people like her."

Annie creates content on Parenting and Children. You can follow her @annie.willems on Instagram.