He's of the colour of the nutmeg. And of the heat of the ginger.... he is pure air and fire; and the dull elements of earth and water never appear in him, but only in patient stillness while his rider mounts him; he is indeed a horse, and all other jades you may call beasts. ~William Shakespeare, Henry V

Friday, December 18, 2009

MOMMY IS A SQUEALER

When Cassidy started Kindergarten this year, I told myself I wasn't going to be one of "those" mothers. You know the ones I am talking about; the ones that always complain to the Principal because something is happening on the playground, in the classroom, or being picked on all the time, and the ones that go over board and seriously over react in simple situations that don't require much to resolve. I'm also not going to be the parent that harps because their child isn't first in sports or anything like that. Don't get me wrong. I will be there to defend Cassidy when something does happen. I just want her to be able to stick up for herself and be tough, but not so tough that she is considered a bully.

Thursday, Cassidy came inside the house after she got off the bus. She took off her glove and showed me this huge bite mark on her finger. She said that she turned around and knelled on the bus seat to wave at a friend that was sitting behind her. As Cassidy was waving, this "friend" grabbed her wrist and bit down on her finger and then started to laugh. Being the tough person that I am, I had a mental image go through my head that I hoped Cassidy took her fist and popped this "friend" right in the face. Now, I know that's wrong, but that's what I would have done. Cassidy said she didn't do anything and just turned around and sat back down. I told Cassidy the next time something happens on the bus, she needs to immediately talk to the bus driver because they are there to help if there are any problems. I also made a quick call to the school principal. I hated doing it, but I wanted the other child to know that they were not going to get away with picking on either of my girls. The principal was surprised to hear what the other child had done, and she promised me that she would speak to the child first thing tomorrow morning and tell them that is 100% not acceptable behavior on the bus. I thanked the principal and then hung up.

I kind of feel like a shit for doing that. I don't want Cassidy labeled as "the squealer" either. I would prefer she try to handle it without me getting involved as much as possible. Since she is only 6, I will have to intervene now-and-then. Again, don't get me wrong. I am not running away from the responsibility myself, I would just like to see Cassidy handle those situations well too. I don't want the other kids to harass Cassidy more because her mom called the principal. Peer pressure for small children is terrible. I know they don't say a lot of things because they don't want to be teased more or picked on then they already are. They only want the other children to like them. They think that if they don't tell anyone if anything bad is happening, then these other kids will like them. It's awful they have to think that they will gain acceptance this way.

Yesterday, Cassidy told me that things were okay on the bus and she didn't sit next to the "friend." I thought that was a wonderful first step that Cassidy took. By staying away, this child will not be able to do anything to her. I am hoping that Cassidy doesn't have any more problems on the bus this year.

1 Comments:

  • At December 18, 2009 at 7:22 PM, Blogger Karissa (mommy) said…

    I completely understand what you are talking about.

    The headstart bus has assigned seats for the kids, and for awhile Isabella sat next to this boy that was an ass to her. She would tell us about him, but wouldn't tell the chaperone on her bus. We told her to let her chaperone know and to also just ignore the kid and pretend like she couldn't hear him because he's just a bully.

    Unfortunately, she refused to tell her chaperone and he kept bugging her, so Doug and I finally told the headstart director (who was also the bus chaperone). The director let Isabella pick a new seat on the bus, and she hasn't had a problem since.

    We were both hoping Isabella could deal with the situation herself, but we don't blame her one bit for being scared. I'm just glad that Doug and I talked to her bus chaperone before I one day walked onto that bus myself and popped that little jerk in the face. ;)

     

Post a Comment

<< Home

 


Music Video Code provided by Music Video Zone