Big Kid Stuff

So far, things have been all the fun, snuggly stuff with the kids. I mean yes, Cillian has therapies and surgeries but what I mean is that it's all been family focused so far. It's not yet been real world actual issues yet. Until now. We have our first friend issue at school. This is new territory for me and Doug as parents. I think one of the most challenging aspects of this is what we say to James and how we respond to him when he shares things with us. Also, another tricky part is figuring out what role we play. Do we intervene? Do we talk to a teacher? Or, do we stand back, talk with James and see what he can do for himself with the aid of the teachers at school if need be.

It's not easy. There is a child in class with James that has  become very possessive of him during class time. He will not let James work with other children and gets very angry when James wants to work with others or by himself. Recently, he's been rude and bossy to James ordering him around and saying things like "you do that now" or "no you can't have that" or "you're not allowed to do that" etc and then James told me that he said something really scary to another friend about cutting his head off or something. The other child told the teacher and the teacher pulled the child aside to speak with him.

At this point, Doug and I have come to the conclusion to not have a special meeting with the teachers but rather to wait until the end of March for regular conferences to discuss this - unless - something happens that makes James very uncomfortable/causes him harm. The reasons we're doing this are because James is very open with us about what transpires and with each description, he tells us that a teacher was involved and spoke to the boy about whatever had happened. James is also very open about how these things make him feel and he talks with either me or Doug and me about what he thinks he should do the next time.

I didn't think things like this would happen so early. I really hope we're saying the right things and being good examples of how to deal with these situations. Hopefully things will work out. I know that the boy's Mom is expecting a second child and that he is very jealous. At this point, I'm going to think that these things are related but I do hope that the threats stop and the bossiness stops. I am grateful though that James recognizes that what the other child is doing and saying is wrong and that he should not act in a similar way.