My worst fears have come to pass.
My sweet little Ethie has encountered mean, horrible BULLYS at school. Actually, they're on his bus to & from school AND in his classroom. Ugh.
For over a week now, he's come home complaining that these 2 boys are teasing him. Saying "you like Elmo, you like Elmo" (Elmo is the little dorky red guy from Sesame Street)
As if!
My child is a shoot-em-up, battle-throwing, Star Wars-loving boy! He actually (much to my dismay) stopped liking Sesame Street at age 2 1/2, but I digress.....
Now Ethan hasn't gotten too upset so far by this constant teasing. I think it upsets me more than it does him. He seems confused, more than anything, as to why kids would tell him he likes something he doesn't. He's a practical kid!
Yesterday, he said they're still teasing him....even doing it quietly in the classroom so the teacher can't hear (evil and smart - bleh!) So I gave him the best advice I could think of - ignore them. I said if you don't say anything back to them, they'll eventually get bored and will leave you alone.
And then dad came home.....
And gave Ethan completely different advice. Somewhere along the lines of "you have to stick up for yourself," "don't let kids push you around," "here's what you do - when they start teasing you, you tell them they like Barbie!" "Oh, and if they don't stop, tell them they look like a girl."
Now, I don't agree with this barbaric advice, however Zack had me convinced by the end of the night that Ethan had to stand up to these bullys. If he didn't, they'll keep on doing it and will get others to as well (that's already happened too - apparently, they told one of the older kids....a safety patrol kid, no less, to make fun of him. This 10 yr old said to Ethan yesterday "I hear you're gonna be Elmo for Halloween!!" SO mean.
So here's the point of my longest blog entry ever!
Our conversation, as I'm getting him ready for school this morning:
Me: So what did Dad tell you to say to those kids?
Ethan: He said to tell them they like Barbie (giggles) and that they look like girls (giggles again)
Me: So are you gonna do that?
Ethan: Ummm (long pause) I don't think so (another long pause) because I think that would be rude, wouldn't it?
Me: (trying to hold back the tears) You know what I think?
Ethan: What?
Me: I think you're the best kid I've ever met.
8 comments:
Jill - It absolutely kills me! I love Ethan and I hate BULLIES! What a kind sweet kid you have! Please encourage him to be a little mean!
okay seriousy Jill! I'm crying! That is sooooooooooooooo sad, i can't even stand it! that is seriously one of my worst fears EVER! And poor Ethan, who is the sweetest boy I know! I'm so sorry that he's going through that! I can't even stand other kids who do that, maybe you really should say something, call parents or teachers or somthing!!
oh jill...i'm crying (just like dad!) that is the sweetest thing i've ever heard. i can't stand that he's being bullied! you need to call some parents...i think that i would!!! you need to live by us or in cali, so that he can go to a school with his cousins and they can all stick together!!! love and miss you!
Jill...I too have tears in my eyes!! How absolutely sweet of him to think that would be rude to say back to them!! OMG Seriously, how did you not just break down right there? Freakin little jerks...How dare they tease my cute little nephew like that...I will fly back there and beat all of them with Cami's barbies right now!! Give him a big hug for me. k? Love ya-Jenn
You know what??? I think he's the best little kid ever too! What a little sweetheart! He is so tenderhearted Jill........how lucky you are! You successfully had the entire family crying all day........and almost forced this old grandma to take a plane trip out to Maryland and "kick some assks!!" Give he and Spencie some loves from me! Thanks so much for sharing such a sweet, precious moment.
Oh my gosh. I am dying! Just reading that makes me want to punch those kids out. I'm mad! I'm freaking out for that stuff to happen too. I so hope it plays out like in the movies where it comes back to bite those kids in the end. If it continues what will you do? Sounds to me like you have an incredibly sweet boy and you're such a sweet mom.
Glad to hear Ethan did the right thing. That was so sweet. As a teacher, I want to tell you, YOU did the right thing by telling him to ignore them. However, if it continues I think you should let the teacher know. That should NOT be happening in kindergarten. So glad he's got a good head on his shoulders dispite Zack being his dad. LOL Just kidding. Tell Ethan I said Way to Go!
that story is just not to believe! I think you should call parents as well, since your boy is CLEARLY so much more mature than them!
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