lunchbox wrote:
My 5 year old is in kindergarten.
“Hey little buddy- you should always be good to other kids. But if somebody ever hits you, you tell them to stop. If they do it again, you can hit back until they go away. You won’t be in trouble with me.” He’s generally a nice kid, and funny, but doesn’t take any shit. Being the youngest may have something to do with that.
My 3rd grader understands that he can defend himself and I have his back. He also understands that if he were the aggressor/bully he’d be in deep shit. He’s a friendly kid and not a dick to others. He’s become very physical as a soccer defender, and has no problem taking a kid down, mounting, and throwing an arm bar in class.
My 9th grade daughter knew this and knocked a kid a year or two younger than her on his ass when he messed with her little brother on the playground a few years ago. I told her I was proud of her for looking out for her brother.
Defend yourself, defend your family. Anybody messes with your siblings and you all pile in. Mom and Dad have your back.
I have a kindergartner and a 3rd grader as well. Both boys. The 6 year old would rationalize this allowance of hitting into doing it whenever he felt justified. He's also the biggest in his class by a mile and if some kid hit him he would throttle the kid. This might be from him having an older brother, nevertheless, I would pity a classmate that attempted to hit him. Fortunately he was just awarded a prize for playing with everyone being one of the nicest kids in the class.
My 3rd grader. I have no problem with the conversation and having him to this.