Bullying the bully...

How often does a parent face a situation when your child is bullied by the other kids of his age at school or some place else, and when you find your kid waiting for someone to rescue him ??

Well, it happened to me yesterday, it might happen to you tomorrow too.

I was on this normal weekday routine, with me dropping my kids off at the kids club in my fitness centre, while I sweat out my calories. The club, as always, had a number of kids already doing various activities. As I was signing in my kids, I noticed a 3 year old boy bullying both my sons (One is almost 5 and the other is 2). The other kid was just trying to shoo my elder one away by intimidating him and shouting "NO" at him. Of course, what can you expect from my 2 yr old when his older brother himself was standing quietly ?? I stood for a while, not knowing how to react. I was just waiting for my older one to say something to the rowdy kid. But, he just stood there, and since I was still present, he was waiting for me to rescue him.

As my heart went out to my not-so-wild kid, I went and told him to react if anyone says No to him. He just asked me, "Do you want me to hit him back??" I was so taken aback that I really didn't have the answer. Would any parent tell her kids to hit back the others ? Isn't that a bad reaction ?? If so, then what's the good reaction ?? How do you ask a kid to react to others who try to intimidate them?? I mean, this is just a beginning. Though much isn't understood by their still-evolving brains, don't we elders know that it's a starting stage to face this big, mean world ??

Concluding their small-world fiasco, I told my son to ask the other kid to stop, if he finds it irritating. My older one just nodded meaningfully. I left them to their own rules, not intending to completely direct their lives, but it kept bothering me all the while, as i worked out in the gym.

But yeah, sometimes, we tend to think a lot for trivial issues. As I went inside the club to fetch my kids again, I saw my younger son ( who is super-friendly) doing his coloring and sharing them with the same bully-kid. My older one, however might have decided that it's best to avoid him, and I found him in another corner playing gleefully with another kid. Such a difference among my own sons itself.

However, as I noticed that the same kid was waving goodbye to my sons in a friendly manner, I realized that these kids aren't that dependent on us as we think of them. Sometimes, it's best to leave them to their own resort... preparing them for a more, real world. Sometimes, some things are best left unanswered !!! Don't you agree with me ??