Bully Boy

Not just because Bryce is my kid, but he is a cool kid. Really! Here is a story to illustrate this point. Last year he told his teacher he was having a rough day. When she asked why he said, "Everyone wants to be my best friend and they can't ALL be my best friend." Not a bad problem to have. If that is your only problem, you really don't have a problem.

Bryce's first day of school was on Tues. When I asked him how his day was he said in great excitement, "It was great Mom, I get two recesses now!!"

My mind was at ease. All day I was wondering how he was doing and if it was going well.

Later that day Bryce comes over to me, smelling of men's cologne and says, "Mom, smell me!" As he breathes his breath into my face. I tell him his breath smells good and he tells me he brushed his teeth. Then he says, "Now Josh can't say that my breath stinks or that I smell!"

Let me give you the background on this little shit, Josh. He was in Bryce's class last year and he is a mean boy and not just to Bryce. He walks around the playground like he owns the place and makes kids feel bad. All the boys hang out in a group called the boy group, clever huh? They made that name up. Josh would single out a boy and tell him that he wasn't allowed to be in the boy group today. Why?? Who knows, because Josh would just come up with this on his own. He is just a bully!!

Bryce still considers Josh his friend even though he can be cruel. He is also a bit of a class clown so the boys like to laugh at him when he isn't terrorizing the group.

I tell Bryce that he doesn't smell and that Josh is a bully. I tell him that if Josh tells him something like that again to go play with other boys. I am in mom-protective-mode now and seem more upset than Bryce even is. Bryce simply took what he said literally and went to brush his teeth and spray cologne. I'm pissed because I know for a fact, Bryce doesn't stink and has pearly white smelling fresh breath. I make sure of this. So now this is an attack on me!

I explain to Bryce that Josh must be jealous because Bryce is so cool. Bryce asks me what jealous means. I say, "Josh thinks you are cool and he wants to be like you, but isn't as cool, so he puts you down to make himself feel better."

Bryce says, "So Josh wants to be like me?"

I say, "Yes!!"

Bryce says, "But why would Josh want to have stinky breath?"

My poor little guy. He believes this kid, even though he is just a jerk. My heart hurt and I was pissed and felt like walking up to the kid and giving him a taste of his own medicine. Since I am PTA president, I don't think playground bullying a 1st grader will look so good for me.

Bryce puts his cologne on in the morning and has me smell his breath after he brushes. He says, "Now Josh can't say anything!"

I understand this is a part of growing up and that a fair amount of teasing is OK. But when it is your kid, and you know the other kid is a brat, it makes you mad and sad. I don't want Bryce to have this complex about how he smells when he is a clean, well kept kid. Now he is very aware of how he smells and he shouldn't be worrying about that yet. And for those of you who know Bryce, he is a sweet kid. He would NEVER make someone feel bad like that, and for this I am proud of him. I am proud of how he handled it too. He is such a man already. There was a problem, he went and fixed it, by brushing and borrowing Dad's cologne!!

See when your kids get older, you think things will get easier. They won't fall when they are walking like when they were first learning around 1 year. You make it through the tantrums around 2 years. You tell yourself when they are babies and toddlers that protecting them and teaching them will get easier when they are older and can think for themselves. In actuality, it doesn't get easier to shield your children, the challenges just change from sharp ends on the table to bully boys on the playground.