Teacher Explains How She Uses Band-Aids to Teach Kids About Fairness

Teaching fairness to kids can be tricky. If one kid gets a cookie, should every single kid get a cookie? Not necessarily—but how do you explain that to a kid who can only see the chocolate chip goodness that the other kid got?

One elementary school teacher came up with a brilliant way to really explain the concept of fairness to little ones in a way that they can understand—and actually be okay with. The 21-year-old third-grade teacher named Aimee explained her concept in a now viral TikTok video that’s garnered more than 1.4 million likes. All she uses? Is a Band-Aid!

She explains that on the first day of school, she asks her students if anyone has ever scraped their elbow. “As you can imagine, they all raise their hands,” she says, adding that she asks one student to share their elbow-scraping story. She then hands them a Band-Aid for their elbow.

“Next, I ask who’s ever bumped their head,” Aimee says. “More hands go up, I have someone tell me a sotry and then I say, ‘I’m so sorry you hurt your head, here’s a Band-Aid for your elbow.’”

Hmmm…well that doesn’t make much sense to the kid, right? Why would they need a Band-Aid for their elbow if they hurt their head?

The video continues with similar examples—for instance, Aimess says, “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.’”

Obviously, the kids are scratching their heads at this point in confusion. So what is Aimee trying to get at here?

“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 explains. “In conclusion, fairness doesn’t mean everyone gets the same thing, fair means that everyone gets what they need to be successful.”

Brilliant, right?

“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.”

Check out the whole video below!

@aimeesedventures##howiteach fairness to my ##elementarystudents ##iteach ##backtoschool ##teachersoftiktok ##teachersontiktok ##teacher ##teachingontiktok ##classroom♬ original sound – Aimee | Elementary Teacher

Even if you’re not a teacher, this can help with fairness among sibling rivalry too. How do you plan to apply Aimee’s advice to your life?