So a few days later, she comes home with Daddy and says that her arm was hurting. Why? Because {insert kid’s name here} hit her again. Daddy’s response, “Well , did you hit him back??!” She gives him a similar answer to the first, only he doesn’t take it. He insists that she needs to fight back and even goes so far as to give her a quick boxing lesson! I don’t say anything to him because I actually agree with his reasoning. Of course, I don’t want my kid to be the class bully, but I don’t want her being the one getting beat up on either and it is essential to teach her how to defend herself.
Let me just state, that this was not the first time. Her teachers know what’s going on and do their best to keep in under control. But let’s face it, some kids are just bullies and since they can’t be disciplined but so much by the teachers, we need to equip our kids on how to deal with them.
So now, are we becoming “Those Parents?” You know, the ones whose values differ from the school’s administration and teach their kids to break the rules in one way or another? Another quick example, we use the term “booty.” We’ve always used it in a playful way with the kids. All of a sudden, we become informed that, in her school, “Booty” is a bad word? What? I can understand the other “bad words” she could be using, but, “booty?” Hip hop has ruined the innocence of children!
Anyway, so just this morning, Leila tells me that she doesn’t want to go to school because the kids hit her. I ask her who and she runs down the list. Then, she pauses and says she will go to school. “And when they hit me, Mommy, I’m just going to hit them back like this…” And she even goes so far as to make a fist and show me a well formed jab-cross!
So now, am I probably going to get a phone call one of these days from her school? Yes. Will those kids try to beat up on her again? No! Are we sending her the wrong message? Maybe…maybe not? Should you teach your kids to fight back or play by the rules? What are your thoughts on this?
I say you teach them both. If you are going through the right channels and talking to everyone you are suppose to and she is still being hit then the only solution may be for her to defend herself. However document everything you have done so that you can show what led up tp her having to defend herself.