by Kim Simon

When Max was just a few months old, I sat cross-legged on the floor with him in a circle of other mothers. The facilitator for our “Mommy and Me” playgroup would throw a question out to the group, and we would each volley back an answer. “What quality do you want to instill in your child? What personality characteristic would you most like for your son to be known for?” she asked.One by one, the mothers answered. “Athletic,” “good sense of humor,” “brave,” “smart,” “strong.” The answers blended together until it was my turn to speak. I looked down at the tiny human wiggling around on the blanket in front of me with his perfectly round nose and his full lips that mirrored mine. I stroked the top of his very bald head and said with confidence: “kind.” I want my son to grow up to be kind.The eyes of the other mothers turned towards me. “Thats not always a word that you hear used for boys,” one said. “But yes, youre right… so I guess, me too.” At the end of the day, we wanted our tiny, fragile, helpless baby boys to grow up to be kind. Strong, resilient, athletic, funny… but above all else, kind. Max is almost 4 years old. He knows nothing about the horrific things that young men did to a young woman on the saddest night that Steubenville has ever seen.

Read more Kim Simon: Prevent Another Steubenville: What All Mothers Must Do for Their Sons.