No one is born mean, rude, or even racist. Unfortunately, Some kids grow up to be this way. I know it’s not always because of how they were raised. It may just be that they are around people who are like that on a regular or even TV. I’m pretty sure many parents can relate to the ridiculous whining that occurs after a few continuous episodes of Caillou…. We can all agree we did not raise whiners. My kid will be 4 soon, but the amount of mean kids we encounter on a daily basis is ridiculous. It’s time to teach her how to deal with it.
My child is very friendly. She may have her little tantrums here and there, but she is always the life of the party. We attend many outings and go on little day trips often so my daughter is always meeting new people. More often than not, the children end up being rude, obnoxious, or just plain mean. I once overheard a little girl tell her friend “I don’t want to sit next to her, I don’t” (talking about my daughter) so I kindly smiled, grabbed my daughter and told her “It’s ok baby, let’s go play with the nice kids your age”. That was that!
My child is in the 98th percentile for height so I know many kids immediately think she’s 6, until she starts talking. That’s where some kids start saying “we can’t play with you because you’re a baby”. My daughter gets sad, but you know what I say? ” It’s ok Gabby, you’re not a baby. You’re just too awesome for them so let’s go and find you new friends.” It hurts me just a little more now that my kid is starting to wonder why. It doesn’t happen all the time, but just enough to realize that kids these days are so much worse than before.
Would you believe that we’ve even encountered a child (who is light skin, but half black) that said she doesn’t like to play with my child because “she is black”. She was talking about my daughter’s beautiful complexion and I was baffled. How can a child who is half-black, half-spanish not want to play with my kid because she is darker? It doesn’t make sense, but that IS life. The sooner I can teach my kid to deal with it, the better her life will hopefully be.
I know that kids will be kids, but when these kids are some that you see often and they still act the same way… There’s clearly a mean bug going around in the air. In case you don’t fully understand this post….
I’m teaching my kid:
* When someone is mean to you, walk away and make a new friend.
* If someone doesn’t want to play with you now, Play by yourself or find someone else.
* If someone pushes or hits you, you tell me right away and I will tell their mother.
* If you are rude to someone, you WILL be on timeout!
Have you witnessed these or similar behaviors? How have you handled it?
This is an amazing lesson to teach, and it's something that is true even in adulthood. She is lucky to have a mom that teaches her to take the high road 🙂
As time goes on I really can't believe that this goes on even if it's right before my eyes.
Wow. Stuff like that really tears me up inside. My son has encountered some mean kids before too. But you can't control what other kids say and do. It really hurts to see, but it is a part of life. She is lucky to have a mom like you!
Kids can be terrible cruel and the friendly kids need to learn to deal with it. They are certainly life lessons that will hold true through adulthood
This is a great post. I wish kids weren't so mean but unfortunately they learn from the adults and that's a sad reality. I think what you're teaching your daughter is wonderful!
This is such a hard lesson to teach our kids. I know my kids have encountered quite a few mean kids but luckily they have done really well with it.
I've been fortunate personally that I haven't had to deal with this but professionally I deal with it often.
Ughhhh it's shocking to me how many kids are mean! My daughter is the happiness little
Girl ever and loves everyone, but unfourtnatly even at 4 she has learned not all kids love everyone too :-/
I swear, kids are meaner now than when I was in school. I can't believe some of the things that come out of their mouths to other kids (and to adults).
It's really sad how cruel kids can be to one another. I think these are important lessons that you are teaching your daughter.
This is so sad to me, but unfortunately it happens everywhere all the time. I went through it when I was young too and the reality of it all is that we all learn that we cant make everyone like us, some people will like us some wont its life. We just got to keep moving and teach children how to deal with situations like this.
It's hard to be a parent and watch this happen. I know that my little man is luckily doing well with his peers at school.
I went through some stuff similar when I was at school, and It's horrid to deal with. This post made me tear up a bit! It's really hard to deal with, some kids just have no understanding!