When the girls started kindergarten this year, I was nervous about them going to school, leaving the comforts of family and home and being on their own. I was nervous for them to go into a new environment and I didn't want them to be nervous or scared. I was more nervous than they were. For them, school = FUN! School = EXCITEMENT! and new BFF's!
Never, in all of my freak-out-edness (ha, new word!) did I ever imagine I'd have to help the girls deal with a BULLY. Because they're in Kindergarten. And kids are supposed to be nice and sweet at this age, right? Well, on the very
first day of school, a little boy, who we will call ShitHead (because he is indeed a ShitHead, not that I condone name-calling, but we're all adults here and ShitHead is a
mild form of what I'd REALLY like to call the boy!) told Lydia that she had a "fat butt." She was upset about it, and it was the first thing she told me about when she got off the school bus on her very first day. I expected to hear about her classroom and her teacher and the other students, but nope, I heard about ShitHead and how he told her she had a "fat butt." We laughed about it because it's so silly, really, and I explained to her that sometimes little kids are just mean because they don't know any better or because they are sad or mad on the inside. I was hoping it was an isoltated incident.
But it continued. Daily. I'd ask the girls "How was school today?" and I'd hear "The mean boy on the bus did this ..." or "The mean boy called us stupid today" or "The mean boy snapped a rubber band at Lydia" or "The mean boy told us that our favorite song was dumb" and etc. etc. Every single day, ShitHead did or said something bad to them. He constantly said a bunch of crap to them, but the majority of stuff was targeted at Lydia. That we can't exactly figure out. Lydia seems to get the brunt of his insults, although she sits with Arlene and another girl friend.
This past Monday, Lydia tells me that the ShitHead hit her. He "punched" her in the face. I had her clarify and I had Arlene corroborate the story. Apparently, ShitHead had been telling the girls that he was going to "get them" and "beat them up" and on Monday, he made a fist and hit Lydia. He didn't hit her hard, he didn't hurt her, he didn't leave a mark, but he touched her. He made a fist and hit her nose. I was pissed. Enough!
I had enough. Talking smack and throwing around insults is one thing, but to actually hit her is another thing all together. So on Tuesday morning I marched onto the bus with the girls and I told the bus driver about the situation. The kids have assigned seats on the bus, and because ShitHead is just a bad boy in general (the girls told me he opened a window one time and got into trouble, oooo!) his assigned seat is directly behind the bus driver. Because I had told the girls from the get-go that they needed to sit close to the driver, turns out their seat is directly behind ShitHead's seat. I asked the driver if they could switch seats. He said he'd deal with it. I also called the Transportation department and complained. I didn't get the response I had hoped for. They told me that they'd talk to the driver about it, but I got the feeling that they didn't really listen to me.
I stewed more about it and finally called the school principal. I felt like the kid needed to be disciplined for hitting Lydia. If it would have happened in the classroom setting he would have gotten into trouble immediately. Why not on the bus? The principal was very kind and she assured me that I did the right thing in calling her. She got Lydia out of class and had Lydia point out the kid in the yearbook. (All this time we don't even know the kid's name.) The principal told me and told Lydia that she'd deal with the problem. The boy will be moved seats, and if the problem persists, he'll change buses or be prohibited from riding the bus all together.
I hope the boy stops. He shouldn't be hitting anyone. He's in second grade! Why is he picking on a kid smaller than him? If he hit her just lightly this time, what about next time? What if he actually really hurts her? Maybe he gets beaten at home so he's taking it out on other kids. I don't know. What I do know is I'm not going to let anyone mess with my kids. Yes, I'm going to be THAT mom, the one that marches into school at just the sniff of an injustice brought upon their kid. I'll stand up for my kids and make sure something is
done about it.
The report so far, is good. The boy didn't cause trouble yesterday. I hope the same is true for today! Because if not, the school hasn't heard the last from me.
