Firstly, I'm not sure how long it's been since I've deep cleaned my home. A month, perhaps? With the superb weather, two active boys and a barbecue working full-time (admittedly, our neighbors' bbq), our time spent indoors has been reserved solely for sleep--leaving the dust and the messes to remain outdoors. As it should be, right? Are you doing the same?
We've also been spending a lot of time at the gym. I figure summer is coming and so are Kid's die-hard, sink-or-swim lessons. We've been working on his swimming, but winter, combined with a decrepit Mommy Bee who hates the cold, has caused some major regression on Kid's part. Naturally, I suppose, although it does give me much more motivation to keep at it this coming winter.
A little secret? After Kid and I are done with our "lesson", I send him to his "class", aka the gym day care, in which I proceed to lay out in the sun and read for an additional twenty minutes until my guilt calls me back to pick up the offspring. Poor Bee totals almost an hour and a half in there. Save your sympathy, though, he gets read to, played with, works on crafts and dances with scarfs to funky 70's music. It's better than home for him, and remember, he's top three on their cute list, so I'm sure he gets plenty of attention!
All that for my moment of Mommy protectedness (currently not a word, but someday it should be)... As we were walking to the car I asked Kid about his class. He said that two certain boys were not allowing him to climb with them. Kid explained that they said they were doing something that only "tough kids" could do. I asked how that made him feel. He responded, "Well, it wasn't very kind, it made me sad, and I decided to watch instead".
Oh, no you didn't! This was my first time (wrong, there was one other time where I was actually breastfeeding while I watched my son become a punching bag, a whole different story!) where I wanted to stomp back into the Kid's Club and give those two boys a piece of my mind!
However.
I then thought about it (silently).
It's just pecking order, really. Those boys didn't say anything wrong or overly mean. They were just practicing their age and strength on a younger and weaker fellow. This was nothing.
Nothing compared to what happens at preschool, school, and other extra-curricular activities.
It made me also realize that I cannot control my child's environment everywhere we go. Be it that I home school or not (currently still leaning towards, fyi, especially after today!), there will be moments like this.
But what can we do?
Equip them with confidence, love, and the tools to verbally communicate their feelings. Prepare them for "totem pole" situations and remind them to be kind in their moment at the top.
Am I missing anything?
Have you experienced moments where you wanted to give another child a piece of your mind? What did you do and how do you handle situations such as that?