today as i was walking my kids home from school, my daughter tripped and fell, skinning up her hands and arm. There was a group of girls walking behind us and a few of them started laughing very loudly and rudely over and over again. My daughter was fighting back tears, and i was just trying to keep her attention off of them, but they kept on.
I finally snapped, yelling "you need to mind your own business and find something better to do than laugh at a little girl who fell down."
keep in mind my daughter is in kinder and they were 4th and 5th graders.
I know that i should not have done that.
Well, the entire way home-they live in the same complex as i do-they were yelling "my daughters name", Youre Ugly!
they kept this up the whole way, i didnt turn around and my daughter didnt hear it because i kept talking to her loudly when they would yell it.
Two of the girls live in my building, and the rest of them go to the YMCA which is right next to my building, so we will see these kids around.
There is one in particular (the one that lives in my building) who is always in trouble, or trying to fight or just being rude.
Unfortunatly her mother is the same way, so i dont think talking to her would help.
I just dont know what i should do.
i dont want my daughter being picked on, but i dont want to be as ignorant as them either.
....one more thing, when we got home we went inside before they got in the gate. i had my window open and i heard/saw them looking at my parking spot saying "its gone"
I had loaned my car out today. so now im worried they will they do something to my car.
I'm sorry, but I would have done exactly what you did. I tend to not tolerate little bullies. It's unfortunate that at least one of the mothers is just like her daughter, very immature, but if given the opportunity, I would find some kind act for the mother in an attempt to raise her above the pitiful existence she must be in to have raised such an insensitive child. Kindness is the best remedy to ugliness.
Report!! Report!!! That is scary behavior and you should report it to the school and complex right away. That way if something happens to your car, there is a record of a threat. Also, the school should be aware of the bullies. That isn't rude behavior, its bullying and the schools have to do something. I'm a teacher in AISD and I suspect they will minimize and downplay it in order to avoid any action...but you should stay on them! If anything happens on school grounds, you should demand the maximum punishment! I know these sort of parents and their kids, they only get uglier--especially in Austin ISD b/c the district has a 100% tolerance policy!!
I think reporting it would be a good idea, but I would try talking to the other mom first. I would start with, "I would want someone to tell me about this if this were my child who was being so mean to a littler child. Perhaps your daughter is undergoing tremendous stress in her life and needs some support". Bring a picture of you little one.
Don't use pejorative works like "rude". Try to get your anger under control before you go. These kids are not scared of anything but Mom and if you think of it they are really heading for trouble.
You might also ask her how you can avoid having your daughter taunted this way. If behaves as rudely as you expect, then tell her regrettfully that you will have to report this to the authorities as you cannot have your child exposed to this danger on a daily basis. You might also need to drive to pick up your daughter or get her released earlier or later than this brat.
Keep a camera by the window in the event of any damage to the car so you can photograph any mis deeds. They will not believe you otherwise.
You may be doing this child a big favor if the mother wakes up and smells the coffee.
Good luck.
K.
Hi L.~
That sounds like bullying to me, and I would address it with the parents as well as the school. Get the girls names and go talk to the principal. Document everything.
Kids are going to be mean at some point or another, unfortunately . You will have to teach your daughter ways of handling it without bending down to their level. But if they taunt and tease over and over , thats bullying and needs to get addressed. Good luck .
I agree with the other moms...report to the school, the apartment complex, and the parents. Go to all the moms if you can and tell them what happened, again focusing on behavior and not personality. Not "your kid is terrible", but "this behavior disturbs me". Document everything. Good luck with this, it isn't easy to deal with.
