So I had my first experience yesterday at the park where Landon was somewhat bullied. I always knew there would be a day that Landon would have to deal with kids being mean to him, but I did not know that it would be when he was 3.5 years old. Landon is very comfortable around older kids, being he always plays with his aunts and uncles who are very close in age to him. He definitely prefers to play with older children.
There was a group of 8-9 year old at the park and they were playing Indiana Jones, which Landon loves and he wanted to get in on the action. So, he was kind of following them around trying to play and the older boy turns to him and said "go away kid!" I did not say anything, as I believe that kids need to learn to handle these situations on their own. Well, Landon only being 3 years old did not understand... so, he still followed them around trying to play. Then the boy yells at him and says, "GET OUT OF HERE KID, WE DO NOT WANT YOU HERE AND YOU ARE NOT PLAYING WITH US, NOW GO AWAY!" Landon's face fell and my heart sank.
There is nothing that can prepare you for witnessing rejection of your child, boy does it hurt. I got up and walked over to Landon as the boy started to shake in his pants, and I told him that I do not want him playing with mean boys and that he was too good to play with boys that hurt other peoples feelings. A glow of confidence ran through Landon as the biggest smile beamed over his face.
I do not know if I handled the situation right. All I know is, I want my kids to be aware of other children's feelings and hopefully he will remember how it feels to have someone treat him badly. I also want him to grow up confident enough not to let mean kids get him down... I feel like this is just the beginning in a new chapter of parenthood...
