The time I have always dreaded has finally come - some kid has started to bully D1. She has been mentioning this "mean boy" at school for a while now, but last week alarm bells rang when she confided in me that he threatened to punch her in the face if she didn't get out of his way.
Now my first instinct was to find the kid and clock him. Clearly I was overreacting, because, after all, the boy is only 6. But saying out loud to yourself that someone, anyone, has threatened to hurt your child is enough to make any parent's blood boil, especially when she is afraid to do something as simple as go to her cubby.
I went through all the appropriate steps: I talked to the teacher and made sure she took the situation seriously. She moved the kid's cubby away from D1's (and her friend's, who was afflicted with the same problem). She promised to talk to the students about telling a trusted adult when they are frightened or uncomfortable. I was happy about those solutions.
... but I have to admit that I told D1 that if that kid ever threatened her again, she is allowed to punch him, right in the face.
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It's hard, isn't it? I taught my kids to never start a fight or to pick on another child, but by God, if someone hurt them, hurt them right back. I didn't want to raise little poop-disturbers, but I didn't want them to get bullied either.
ReplyDeleteWay to go. It's good for kids to stick up for themselves. Kids that don't grow up to be adults that get taken advantage of.
I dread this as well. I hope and pray that we never have to deal with a bully.
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