Mum-of-four Laura Doyle talks about how to handle it if your child says a classmate is being mean to them.
Most of us parents dread any of our children coming home to say they have been hurt - physically or mentally. Although the latter can be a bigger wound to heal.
It is one big learning process for everyone involved. It is important to help your little one learn about the world around them and to learn how to navigate within that. But at what point should you as a parent get involved?
It can be hard to let go of that bit of control when your little one starts school.
You can’t be there to protect them against everything that may hurt them.
So, what do you do if your little one comes home to say somebody is being mean to them in school?
It can be heartbreaking to watch your child be upset. While it is so important to listen to your child and take their concerns seriously, it is also important to take their age and development into consideration too before you go in all guns blazing!
Here are some ways to help your child get through it:
Listen to your child
Ensure your child understands that you are their safe place. Often their little worries of the day come up at bedtime. Don’t fob them off, listen to them and reassure them that you are there and that you can both get through anything together.
Don’t react immediately
While listening, be careful not to show fear, angst or judgment. Your child will be watching your reaction to imitate. An emotional reaction from you may confuse or upset them.
Observe
If possible, try to set up a slot where you supervise yard time at their school or even go early and watch how they interact in the yard in the morning before school. This will give you a far better idea of the dynamic within their class and how your child fits into it.
Remind your little one to talk to their teacher
One person that will probably have the clearest idea of what is really going on is their teacher.
Encourage them to tell their teacher what is going on. Hopefully, the teacher can nip it in the bud.
Talk to the teacher yourself
If it is going on longer than you like, it would be no harm mentioning it to the teacher. When you and the teacher are keeping an eye on things, hopefully, the issue can be resolved quickly with little fuss.