The moment Noah was placed in my arms on August 6, 1998, I had this strong instinct to protect him. It is also part of my makeup that I tend to stick up passionately for the underdogs and the needy and helpless.... I always knew I would be the kind of mother that would stick up for my children if they were getting bullied.. even if "sticking up" to them could mean I could get in trouble :)
Today, I experienced what it is like to feel anger toward another child that is bullying my Noah.
He is in the same class as Noah and for 1/2 of this school year, he has been bullying Noah in very slight ways and in a sneaky manner that adults do not notice...
He does things like pinch Noah's shoulders so hard that he almost falls down, kicking Noah in the shin in the hallway atleast once a day, and today, the worst... He grabbed Noah in the head and scratched him hard with his fingernails that it made a scratch on the side of his ears...
Those of you who know Noah knows that he is the most gentle, peace-loving boy. I don't say this just because I am his mother... he truly is and anyone that knows him will say the same. He has not hurt a single soul in his life and as his teacher put it, "very gentle and kind"... so why does he get picked on? I have no idea... other than maybe it is purely because he takes it.
3 months ago, when I found out that this boy has been harassing Noah for 3 months prior to that by just picking on him constantly, I told Noah that he needs to tell him to stop and if he doesn't, he needs to get his teacher involved and if that doesn't stop, we'll have a chat with the principal...
Well, 3 months went by and I had not heard anything from Noah, so I assumed all was well... Today, after he told me about the head grabbing incident, I asked him if his harrassment ever stopped... he started crying and said that it never did... that he had been just deciding to "take it" because he didn't want to come across as being weak. This just broke my heart because he didn't tell me for 3 months! I felt so bad because I could have asked him in the past 3 months how things were going with this boy, but since he didn't bring it up, I didn't ask.
I called Aaron as soon as I found out about it because I knew that I couldn't talk to the teacher because I was too emotional and wanted to kill someone. I told him it would be better if he talked to the teacher first because he would be able to talk with him in a calm manner. A few minutes later, Aaron called back and said that the teacher wanted to talk with me since I knew more of the details... we talked for about 15 minutes and it went really well. He is going to talk with both Noah and the bully and make sure that he apologizes and is going to try to get them to talk it over.
I am praying that God brings the truth forth and that they will be able to work things out. If I ever catch him in the hallway doing anything to Noah, I can't promise I will be as nice as Noah has been to him. Lord have mercy.
Today, I experienced what it is like to feel anger toward another child that is bullying my Noah.
He is in the same class as Noah and for 1/2 of this school year, he has been bullying Noah in very slight ways and in a sneaky manner that adults do not notice...
He does things like pinch Noah's shoulders so hard that he almost falls down, kicking Noah in the shin in the hallway atleast once a day, and today, the worst... He grabbed Noah in the head and scratched him hard with his fingernails that it made a scratch on the side of his ears...
Those of you who know Noah knows that he is the most gentle, peace-loving boy. I don't say this just because I am his mother... he truly is and anyone that knows him will say the same. He has not hurt a single soul in his life and as his teacher put it, "very gentle and kind"... so why does he get picked on? I have no idea... other than maybe it is purely because he takes it.
3 months ago, when I found out that this boy has been harassing Noah for 3 months prior to that by just picking on him constantly, I told Noah that he needs to tell him to stop and if he doesn't, he needs to get his teacher involved and if that doesn't stop, we'll have a chat with the principal...
Well, 3 months went by and I had not heard anything from Noah, so I assumed all was well... Today, after he told me about the head grabbing incident, I asked him if his harrassment ever stopped... he started crying and said that it never did... that he had been just deciding to "take it" because he didn't want to come across as being weak. This just broke my heart because he didn't tell me for 3 months! I felt so bad because I could have asked him in the past 3 months how things were going with this boy, but since he didn't bring it up, I didn't ask.
I called Aaron as soon as I found out about it because I knew that I couldn't talk to the teacher because I was too emotional and wanted to kill someone. I told him it would be better if he talked to the teacher first because he would be able to talk with him in a calm manner. A few minutes later, Aaron called back and said that the teacher wanted to talk with me since I knew more of the details... we talked for about 15 minutes and it went really well. He is going to talk with both Noah and the bully and make sure that he apologizes and is going to try to get them to talk it over.
I am praying that God brings the truth forth and that they will be able to work things out. If I ever catch him in the hallway doing anything to Noah, I can't promise I will be as nice as Noah has been to him. Lord have mercy.
Comments
I hope the bullying is over for sweet Noah and you.