My friend’s son walked up to his mom on the playground yesterday afternoon, crying.
“Those boys hit me with a stick,” he announced. “And they hit Sam, too.”
Sam is my 8-year-old son. The mother bear instinct quickly rose up in my chest.
“I’ll go have a talk with those boys,” I told my friend, putting on my best tough mother act. I immediately assumed the boys who were harassing them were “problem kids”, kids whose parents were never around and who seemed to be raising themselves.
Turns out the boys who allegedly pushed and hit them are the sons of two of the nicest women at school, active volunteers always ready to lend a hand. Hmmm… I got suspicious that maybe my son wasn’t completely innocent in this scenario. Had he or his friends done something to provoke the older boys?
It also made me think about how quick I am to jump to conclusions. Even kids from “good” families can behave badly – including my own son. (He was throwing rocks at the older boys when I intervened.) And kids with difficult home lives need to be treated fairly, not assumed guilty right off the bat.
I’m hoping to have the kids talk with the school counselor to get to the bottom of the conflict, or at least to work out a truce, because bad feelings still linger.
For my part, the event was a good reminder to me to treat all kids fairly and openly, with the same respect and expectations.
Submitted by Anne

February 4th, 2009 | Category: Metro Parent