This is Not Good

The glow of last week's parent-teacher conference--in which I was told that my kiddo is sweet and kind and gets along with all the kids in her class--is gone. Today, my kiddo got in trouble for being mean to a neighbor's child.

I don't get it; they get along great in school, and she talks about him all the time, but today when she was playing with him and his sister at their house, she decided that she didn't want to play with him anymore. The girl is a few years older than her brother and my kiddo; the kiddo idolizes her, and hence wanted some one-on-one time. The neighbors' girl adores the kiddo, and there is probably some sibling dynamic going on between the brother and sister where they like to play with one another, until they get sick of each other. I think my kiddo picks up on that and feeds off it. In any case, she made the poor boy feel so bad that his daddy escorted her back to our house. This was after both parents asked the kiddo to play nice. Ouch.

This was not clear to me until my neighbor sent me a message explaining what had happened, but I am glad she did. After hubby and I processed the information, we had a discussion with the kiddo. She started to cry, but didn't argue her case; she knew she was in the wrong. She is going to have to apologize to her friend tomorrow--we will make certain that she does. I also think that she will be staying in our yard by herself for the rest of the week. If she can't be nice to all her friends, maybe she should keep her distance for a while.

Most parents claim that they want to know when their child misbehaves, but actually receiving such news is a disappointment. Some parents prefer to only hear about bad behavior, and expect other parents not to discipline their child. I would raise a big stink if someone hit the kiddo, but I think that removing her from the situation is perfectly acceptable (the kiddo was deposited right at our door, and I was right there).

Not to make light of the situation, but this is a fixable problem, and a good learning experience. For me as well as the kiddo.