Haye has been experiencing a bit of bullying on the playground at our co-op. There is a 12 year old boy there that Haye likes to play with, but he is pretty aggressive and hands-on...and he weighs more than I do and is as tall as me. He has been holding kids hands behind their backs, pretending to choke kids, and then laughing at them when they cry.
Needless to say, we have been attempting to curb his behaviour and the next step will be talking to his Grandma who he lives with. Haye isn't allowed to play outside with him anymore unless there is a specific group of kids playing along with them. In the meantime we are teaching Haye about what it means to be bullied, different forms of bullying, and what to do when you feel threatened. (Yes, I told him he could punch him in the face if we aren't around and he feels like he is in danger...)
We have found some great books though (hooray for public libraries!) that Haye has read to me and then we have had some good discussions about bullies and how to deal with them. He is a pretty insightful little guy!
Myrtle is a book about a little mouse named Myrtle who has a great life until a bully named Frances moves in next door. Myrtle eventually stops playing outside because she is scared of Frances taunting her. Myrtle's Aunt Tizzy comes home from Africa to help her decide how to confront her fears. Myrtle stops giving Frances any power over her by ignoring her words and in turn Frances is defeated.
Gator Gumbo is a book about Monsieur Gator who is teased by all the younger animals in the swamp because he moves slowly and can't catch anything for dinner. He eventually ends up tricking them and they fall into his gumbo and he eats them for dinner. Haye really enjoyed this book because it was funny, but also pointed out that it isn't okay to make fun of people just because they are different than you are, or because they are older or younger etc.
Still waiting on some books on physical bullying to come in for us to study.
