The Kindergarten Bully

Author: Eden Pontz
Published: October 23, 2009 at 5:00 am

Schoolyardplayground My daughter has been in public school kindergarten for a little more than a month. Every morning, I relish the short time in which I am allowed to go into her room, and join her in her early school routine, which includes hanging up her coat and backpack in her cubby, putting her picture up on an attendance chart, dropping off her folder and signing her name on a big sheet of paper.

But the other day, as she'd finished with her classroom responsibilities and sat down to draw, one of the teaching aides quietly approached me and said, "I want to talk with you. Yesterday, I found your daughter Jade and her friend Emma out in corner of the school yard during recess. They were both crying. When I asked them what happened, Jade said a bigger girl told her she was going to punch her in the face. I asked her to point the girl out to me. I know that girl, she's much larger than all the other kids, and she can be a bully."

A bully? In kindergarten? She's barely started to make her mark in the school world and already she's practically the lead in her own ABC after school special? I was floored. I was worried. I was saddened. I wanted the name of this kindergarten bully so I could go take care of her...myself.

The teacher told me what she'd done to handle the situation, and I was relieved to hear that she'd taken it seriously, explaining to both of the girls that this was unacceptable and that there would be consequences for the bullying girl's actions. Together, we re-emphasized to my daughter that this girl was wrong, and that if it ever happened again she should tell a teacher, another adult or a parent right away.

Then I called Emma's mother to talk to her about the situation. I was surprised to learn that Emma lives in the same building as the bully. They've walked to school together, and played together a few times. As Emma's mother relayed the information she'd gotten out of Emma about what happened, it became somewhat apparent that this may have been a case of jealousy from the bullying girl over Emma and Jade playing together in the playground. Not that that excused the threat, but at least it explained a bit more why it happened.

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About this article

Article Author: Eden Pontz

Eden Pontz is Executive Producer at CNN's New York Bureau in addition to her position of "Mama-In-Chief" at home. An award-winning journalist, she's produced and reported both domestically and internationally. She also writes for cnn.com, TravelingMom.com and Eatocracy. …

Eden Pontz's author page

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