Attack of the 40 pound preschooler!
I had a disturbing experience this morning. There is a little girl hellion at my son's daycare. I have wondered if his experiences with her have been causing, in part, his fear of gymnastics because the class is mostly girls. If one girl beats up on you, all of them will do it, right? (Don't answer that.)
This morning, I brought him to daycare and she pretty much went after him right away. He got so upset that he came running to me and was cowering next to me on my right side. She came up on my left and was attempting to hit him. (In all fairness, he attempted to hit her back, so I was restraining him as well.) I basically was holding out my left arm to block her blows and telling both of them, quite firmly to stop. He did. She paused for a second, looked at me, and kept going. The daycare lady came over and pulled her away for a time out.
This little girl has seriously made me wonder if I need to look at a different daycare arrangement for the little guy. I really like the lady who does daycare, and she tries to keep this girl close to her because she picks on all the kids. I also feel bad for the girl because it sounds like her mother pays no attention to her at all (single mom working three jobs...of course, she's driving a brand new SUV and is quite fashionable).
Another mom stopped bringing her daughter to the same daycare, and it sounded like it was primarily because of this girl. I can easily see that because her daughter is so shy and sensitive. Apparently it was a lot of the same stuff I noticed: reluctance to go to daycare, more defiant behavior at home, etc.
I'm really not sure how to handle this. I know the little guy can handle himself, but I'm not happy with the personality changes I've seen recently. Putting him somewhere else may not solve the problem, though. I know from experience that there always seems to be a one bad apple. (When my older one was this age, it was usually him.)
The other kids are really great...but this one is giving me heartburn. :-/
This morning, I brought him to daycare and she pretty much went after him right away. He got so upset that he came running to me and was cowering next to me on my right side. She came up on my left and was attempting to hit him. (In all fairness, he attempted to hit her back, so I was restraining him as well.) I basically was holding out my left arm to block her blows and telling both of them, quite firmly to stop. He did. She paused for a second, looked at me, and kept going. The daycare lady came over and pulled her away for a time out.
This little girl has seriously made me wonder if I need to look at a different daycare arrangement for the little guy. I really like the lady who does daycare, and she tries to keep this girl close to her because she picks on all the kids. I also feel bad for the girl because it sounds like her mother pays no attention to her at all (single mom working three jobs...of course, she's driving a brand new SUV and is quite fashionable).
Another mom stopped bringing her daughter to the same daycare, and it sounded like it was primarily because of this girl. I can easily see that because her daughter is so shy and sensitive. Apparently it was a lot of the same stuff I noticed: reluctance to go to daycare, more defiant behavior at home, etc.
I'm really not sure how to handle this. I know the little guy can handle himself, but I'm not happy with the personality changes I've seen recently. Putting him somewhere else may not solve the problem, though. I know from experience that there always seems to be a one bad apple. (When my older one was this age, it was usually him.)
The other kids are really great...but this one is giving me heartburn. :-/