It was a wonderful spring day so I decided to take my daughter to a different park than the one we usually frequent. This particular one had a lot more kids and varied in age. I viewed this as a good learning experience for her--to be around kids of all ages and sizes. I wanted to see who she wanted to play with, follow, and lead around.
Immediately, this seven-year-old girl recruited my daughter to follow her around and chase her. So she did. Whatever the girl did, my daughter did-- including going down a bigger slide that had a big drop to the ground; something she normally would not have done!
As my little girl went down the slide, the seven-year-old helped her off. It was nice, but seeing my daughter, I could tell she was getting annoyed. She wanted to do it, and of course she did, without any help. As this experience continued, she eventually made her way over to a sign where another little girl was standing. As she got closer the other turned, looked at her, and pushed her away. So she looked at the girl and walked back over and the little girl pushed her harder.
Now I looked around to see where the little girl's mother was but I could see she wasn't looking and if she was I noticed the sign would block her seeing this whole event taking place. So I looked back and my daughter was standing there in disbelief so I called her over to talk to her. As she ran over, she started crying. I asked her what's wrong because I wanted her point of view. She wasn't sure so I told her that she didn't do anything wrong at all. At this point, I said if someone pushes you then you push them back. Never let anyone make you feel uncomfortable. Then I told her to go back and play and she did.
The rest of the day went without incident. However, there were lessons learned for my daughter and myself.
I was bullied once in my life so I hope my daughter will always learn how to fight for what she wants. In addition, pay attention to what your kids are doing because that girl is going to push the wrong kid and get popped upside the head.
