Boo got into his first fight today. Ran home balling his eyes out. He said he slapped someone and they hit him back. The mother in me went into panic mode... but (for once) I managed to calm myself down and asked him to tell me the story. What happened.
Well.... it seems that some of the kids down there called him (Peen Tai Lo ~Cantonese) which literally translates as a pervert. However, he understood that as a female boy - he's 9 ya). It's apparently been happening for quite a while and started when they were playing tag and he touched a girls waist to tag her. Now the girl in question also belongs to the Vietnamese woman upstairs and although I feel she is highly intelligent, she doesn't seem to have a lot of guidance from her mom. When she was a toddler, she was known for biting people and grabbing other kids toys and generally making them cry.
Anyway, he has been ignoring her name calling, but she seems to have gotten other kids in the playground to call him that too. It happened that 3 boys were down there today and they started calling him and Boo got so angry that he slapped one and thus a fight happened. None were really hurt - just some slaps before Boo ran home. But still it's an issue that i feel that needs to be addressed.
Firstly, It was wrong of him to slap people. Fighting doesn't solve anything. So he got a big lecture on walking away when people say things that are hurtful. NEVER FIGHT.
Number 2, Boo needs to apologise - which he duly did. I was proud of him for that.
Number 3, find the parents of the kid he slapped (who happened to be the younger brother of the girl who started it) - Apologise first. But the parents must know that their child's name calling is damaging. And once it starts, well, it opens up for them to move on to other kids, and also opens up for people to call them back names.
No kid should be bullied, neither should they bully. We all live in the same community and should try to do so harmoniously. There will be odd characters around, so if we can't get along with them... just give them a wide berth... Like i do with the Vietnamese mom upstairs.
That's all theory. In reality, my interference could lead to a different sort of bullying. Like Boo ran home to hide behind Mummy. There's a rock in my throat and I know i can't fight his battles for him all the time. He's gotta learn how to suck it up and move on. He already begged me not to talk to the parents or talk about this any more. But i feel i need to - once. As quickly as possible and pray things die down in a few days time.
I love Boo. He's my world. And gosh, I know this is just the beginning...
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