How should you teach fairness to children? If ones receives a treat, should every child have the same thing? Not necessarily. But how do you explain this to a child?

A teacher in an elementary class found a brilliant way to really explain the concept of fairness to toddlers so that they could understand and agree.

Aimee is only 21 years old and she teaches in third grade. She explained her concept in a now viral TikTok video that garnered over 1.4 million likes. All of that using only a band-aid!  

The young teacher explains that on the first day of school, she asks her students if anyone has ever scratched their elbow. “As you can imagine, they all raise their hands,”  she said. After one student finished sharing their elbow-scraping story, she then hands them a band-aid for their elbow.

“Next, I ask who’s ever bumped their head,” Aimee added. “More hands go up, and once again, a student tells me a story before Aimee replies:  ‘I’m so sorry you hurt your head, here’s a Band-Aid for your elbow.’

Now, this is the part kids get confused! Why would one of their classmate need a bandage for their elbow if they hurt their head?

Aimee continues her experiment:  “I ask who’s ever scarped their knee. More hands go up and I say, ‘I’m so sorry you scared your knee. Here’s a Band-Aid for your elbow.’”

Kids are really confused at this point! 

“I’ll stop my lesson and we’ll have a conversation about how even though I gave everyone the exact same thing in the exact same way, it wasn’t helpful to them,” Aimee explained. “In conclusion, fairness doesn’t mean everyone gets the same thing, fair means that everyone gets what they need to be successful.”

Check out the full video below:

“After this lesson, students are much more understanding when their friends with diabetes need an extra snack, when their friends with autism need noise-canceling headphones, when their friends with ADHD need a fidget spinner and they can’t have one. It helps with everything.” said Aimee. 

Even if you are not a teacher, this trick can help you explain this important concept to your children or even grandchildren. Are you going to try it?