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NEVERENDING ♾️ The NEVERENDING Raising Children Thread

btrage said:
I agree. I've also given my 7-year old daughter the green light to take actions into her own hands, if all else fails.

Sometimes all a bully needs is a quick pop to the nose to correct their behavior.
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Speaking of pops to the nose. My daughter got tripped at school 2 days ago and landed on her nose. It's really sore and the one side is bruised. I don't think it's broken, but hard to tell.

My wife and I have heard some horror stories about the increasing amounts of homework as kids move through our charter school (K-8).

My 2nd grader has 1 sheet of homework Mon. through Thur. She usually just does it all on Monday night. She also has a spelling list to memorize and is suppose to read 15 minutes. She's too smart for her own damned good, I think she actually enjoys doing it.

I guess I'm not a big fan of lots of homework, but I'd rather the kid be doing that than playing on the PS3.
 
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Wee P is in 2nd grade and each night has:
* 1 or 2 math sheets,
* Spelling words for the week and each night has to do an assignment each night (use in a sentnce, write a story, practice test, write 5 times are the usual tasks)
* 20 minutes of reading

This usually takes a couple hours to finish - particularly when she trying to make up sentences or the story using the all the spelling words.
 
Missing homework or was it lost?

I am wondering if any of you parents have had this problem - a missing assignment your child says he/she did but the teacher lost it.

Every so often it comes to my attention that my son is missing an assignment or two (we can check his progress online). Sometimes it is because he forgot or hasn't done it.

But every so often I know he did the assignment because I helped him with it and his work goes in a folder that my wife puts in his backpack. The question arises: what happened to the assignment? My son says he turns it in. I tend to believe him. Not absolutely that he turned it in but that he believes he did. He says other kids in his class experience the same problem.

A teacher probably see more than a hundred, maybe a couple hundred papers in a week. I don't think it is inconceiveable that one or two papers fall through the cracks. The problem being that it is the child that suffers.
 
My kids (5 and 10) go to a Montessori school (a benefit of my job) and they do not assign homework. My son, currently in 4th grade, was actually disappointed when his new teacher announced she would not be giving homework (the previous teacher had as a prep for whatever schools they go to after 5th grade). He fears he will be crippled by assignments come 6th grade.

I don't feel that he suffers for it in the least, though. He gets a very thorough and rigorous education as it is.

Situations may be changing for us come summertime, so schooling will, too. Time to get acclimated to a new system.

I, on the other hand, frequently have homework, if you want to call it that. A non-profit's work is never done...
 
otterpop - we've had a similar issue a few times and we found that either Wee P put it in the wrong basket or the teacher did not finish entering the grades. We didn't have this problem before and the teacher this year gets distracted easily (she admitted that in our parent/teacher conference).

We keep checking as you are doing and are going to get through the year then keep a close eye next year to see if it changes. Sometimes you get great teachers and sometimes you don't. But I also know we, as parents, keep working with our kids as well.
 
otterpop said:
I am wondering if any of you parents have had this problem - a missing assignment your child says he/she did but the teacher lost it.

Every so often it comes to my attention that my son is missing an assignment or two (we can check his progress online). Sometimes it is because he forgot or hasn't done it.

But every so often I know he did the assignment because I helped him with it and his work goes in a folder that my wife puts in his backpack. The question arises: what happened to the assignment? My son says he turns it in. I tend to believe him. Not absolutely that he turned it in but that he believes he did. He says other kids in his class experience the same problem.

A teacher probably see more than a hundred, maybe a couple hundred papers in a week. I don't think it is inconceiveable that one or two papers fall through the cracks. The problem being that it is the child that suffers.
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Happens occassionaly with our 2nd grader. The teacher has a parent helper on Fridays, when homework for the week is due, and sometimes it just gets lost in the shuffle. Eventually its found though.

My wife and I have determined that our oldest daughter (7) has a "word quota" for each day. The girl just doesn't shut the hell up. While I appreciate that she is expressive, it gets quite straining at the end of the day. She can literally give me a headache with the amount of talking she does. :b:
 
RT's teachers always lag behind in entering assignment grades online. I generally take her word for it. A time or two a teacher has lost her assignment to which she just hands a copy of it in since at this stage most of her stuff is generated on a computer and she saves her files.
 
btrage said:
My wife and I have determined that our oldest daughter (7) has a "word quota" for each day. The girl just doesn't shut the hell up. While I appreciate that she is expressive, it gets quite straining at the end of the day. She can literally give me a headache with the amount of talking she does. :b:
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Our 7 yo does that frequently too. Two days ago I came home and went to walk the dog. She wanted to come with me which was great, but she did not stop talking during our entire 1 mile trek around the neighborhood. Towards the end she actually said "I know I've talked alot now, but that's because we had to quiet today in school."8-!:lmao:
 
btrage said:
Happens occassionaly with our 2nd grader. The teacher has a parent helper on Fridays, when homework for the week is due, and sometimes it just gets lost in the shuffle. Eventually its found though.
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I was going to echo this. This happens all the time with my kids (my kids are in public school). I know that two of the teachers rarely - if ever - actually check homework. It's a parent volunteer or other students.
 
btrage said:
My wife and I have determined that our oldest daughter (7) has a "word quota" for each day. The girl just doesn't shut the hell up. While I appreciate that she is expressive, it gets quite straining at the end of the day. She can literally give me a headache with the amount of talking she does. :b:
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My son is pretty talkative too. I haven't established a word quota yet, but it is a good idea. Most of my son's talking is questions and information gathering, so I am reluctant to limit his speech, but the endless questions can be taxing on my brain after a day of work stress. Complicating the situation is now that he is 9, his questions are harder to answer and often not in my area of expertise (he is a math and science guy and I am a history/geography/literature guy with a good science knowledge). When he was younger, the questions were easier, or I could rely on the fact he was ignorant so I could make something up he would believe. :p
 
btrage said:
My wife and I have determined that our oldest daughter (7) has a "word quota" for each day. The girl just doesn't shut the hell up. While I appreciate that she is expressive, it gets quite straining at the end of the day. She can literally give me a headache with the amount of talking she does. :b:
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Oh that makes me laugh!! I have a 6 year old girl like this. I want to listen, I really do. It's a challenge to keep listening sometimes but I tell myself one day she'll be all grown up and I'll wish so badly she'd talk to me as much again.
 
Last night I was looking over my son's homework. Up on the top of one of the papers he had written "BS".

I asked him what "BS" stood for. He said "Board Spelling." I said "okay, but maybe you better write that out insead." When he asked why, I explained what "BS" normally meant. He thought that was pretty funny and appropriate, but he changed it anyway.
 
btrage said:
My wife and I have determined that our oldest daughter (7) has a "word quota" for each day. The girl just doesn't shut the hell up. While I appreciate that she is expressive, it gets quite straining at the end of the day. She can literally give me a headache with the amount of talking she does. :b:
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OMG! The TALKING! My 10 year old son is the biggest, most non-stop chatterbox. We should get these kids together for a talk-off!

It can be maddening, endearing, head-spinning and so much more. The biggest challenge is being able to have your own thoughts. Sometimes I feel like when he starts in on a long one, its like he just hijacked my brain and took all my original thoughts away!

Don't get me wrong, he's a great guy - smart, sensitive, compassionate, confident. But, yeah, the talking is...quite...challenging...

I'm hoping its a phase. A three to five year phase.

My daughter, 5, is gearing up to fill any void left when my son calms down and takes a breath. She holds her own pretty well these days, but her "thing" at the moment is challenging authority. So charming! And yet, once the talking starts, I'll wish she was refusing to brush her teeth instead.

Kids. You can't beat 'em and you can't sell 'em. If only they didn't house all my hopes and dreams for a better future...
 
My 10 (almost 11) year old always complains that she is the only kid in her class without a cell phone. The strange thing is that I think she's right. Why do kids all need cell phones at such a young age? Facebook is the other thing that every other 5th grader does.

And, yes, in my day we strung two rusted tin cans together and we liked it.
 
keep talking....

Oh those chatterboxers, love 'em, sometimes need to leave 'em - but still listening. Though admittedly I don't always make a point of really listening-

Though the trick is to get them to tell you the stuff you want or need to know. When sometimes just asking a simple question gets tossed back at ya!
 
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Today my daughter is 6 months old! Time really does fly!

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Holy Crap! Your house is really clean! Ours never looked like that when we had a little un. Or now.
 
ofos said:
Holy Crap! Your house is really clean! Ours never looked like that when we had a little un. Or now.
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I only allow her to play with one toy. Once she has mastered that one toy, she can choose a second toy to play with if, and only if, she puts that first toy away. As you can tell from the photo, my wife, who is more relaxed in regards to this regulation, has allowed our daughter to take four toys out of the basket! :not:
 
WSU MUP Student said:
I only allow her to play with one toy. Once she has mastered that one toy, she can choose a second toy to play with if, and only if, she puts that first toy away. As you can tell from the photo, my wife, who is more relaxed in regards to this regulation, has allowed our daughter to take four toys out of the basket! :not:
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She's a doll, you do good work! (There's a lame-dorky-neighbor-type thing to say for you.) But seriously, a real doll.
 
WSU MUP Student said:
I only allow her to play with one toy. Once she has mastered that one toy, she can choose a second toy to play with if, and only if, she puts that first toy away. As you can tell from the photo, my wife, who is more relaxed in regards to this regulation, has allowed our daughter to take four toys out of the basket! :not:
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Good luck with that :) It won't last.... wait until she can get around :)
 
DetroitPlanner said:
or till Detroit Planner visits and brings her Polly Pockets! :) My nieces have turned making Polly Pocket messes into an art-form.
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That reminds me...my daughter had a friend who liked to play a game she called "MIX-IT-UP". You cannot begin to imagine...pollypockets and little people and kitchen littles and all the teeny-tiny Barbie coutre, blocks, tea sets. That child was almost banned from my home. The game was forever turned into a hiss and a by-word.
 
my eldest is 18 today - wow, this is so cliche but really, how the hell did that happen? She said she can do anything she wants now and my response was "yes but I don't have to bail you out anymore as you are no longer a juvenile and I definitely don't have to fund it!"
 
luckless pedestrian said:
my eldest is 18 today - wow, this is so cliche but really, how the hell did that happen? She said she can do anything she wants now and my response was "yes but I don't have to bail you out anymore as you are no longer a juvenile and I definitely don't have to fund it!"
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I thought you should know I have written that down for reference (i'm only two years from this moment myself). I think it's a great response!

And it may be cliche, but it's true. How the hell does that happen? We'll never know. :-c
 
luckless pedestrian said:
my eldest is 18 today - wow, this is so cliche but really, how the hell did that happen? She said she can do anything she wants now and my response was "yes but I don't have to bail you out anymore as you are no longer a juvenile and I definitely don't have to fund it!"
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I'm on your heels with 6 months to go. I've already told her that she can do what she wants as long as she is not living at home or on my dime. She said that wasn't likely to happen anytime soon so I just told he to remember that and not get pissed off when I remind her :) Where has the time gone?
 
So we (my wife and I and the other parents) decided that our 2nd grader and her best friend in her class will be in separate rooms next year. They are the best of friends when not in the classroom, but are super-competitive in the classroom (and end up hurting each others feelings). Yes, they are frienemies. Girls can be so complicated.
 
My 15 year old son missed the bus today. He tried calling me, but I didn't hear the phone, so he got mad and threw his phone, breaking it. That's the second phone that he threw and broke, and I'm mad. (Not mad enough to throw things.) It's not like him to display anger like that, but I'm really irritated that he threw away more of my money.

I'm calling a landscaper/farmer friend of mine to arrange a day of labor for my son.
 
ursus said:
That reminds me...my daughter had a friend who liked to play a game she called "MIX-IT-UP". You cannot begin to imagine...pollypockets and little people and kitchen littles and all the teeny-tiny Barbie coutre, blocks, tea sets. That child was almost banned from my home. The game was forever turned into a hiss and a by-word.
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What's wrong with that? My brother had a toy gas station and plastic dinosaurs. We intermingled them. T-Rex's little arms were just the right size/configuration to hold a tiny can of motor oil, and Brontosaurus (yes, I know it has a new title, dunno what it is) had the perfect neck curve to be "drinking" the oil.

Creative play. Sometimes the stack of rainbow rings can go on the spike in a different order or pattern.
 
ursus said:
That reminds me...my daughter had a friend who liked to play a game she called "MIX-IT-UP". You cannot begin to imagine...pollypockets and little people and kitchen littles and all the teeny-tiny Barbie coutre, blocks, tea sets. That child was almost banned from my home. The game was forever turned into a hiss and a by-word.
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Veloise said:
What's wrong with that?
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Creative play is fine, as long as the toys are being respected. I'm not shelling out money on toys that are going to be treated like they're rocks. As long as the kids learn the difference, then go for it!!! Otherwise, your toys will be in the next gargae sale.
 
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btrage said:
Yes, they are frienemies. Girls can be so complicated.
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Funny, one of my daughter's good friends at school (kindergarten) is a frienemie, but mainly because they have the same Alpha female personality type. I blame me for the alpha female instinct. I can already picture my daughter being one of those mean girls :(
 
Last night my son was very frustrated and mad because we were on his case about some missing assignments (an ongoing issue). He dropped the f-bomb. I gave him a warning that the next one would cost him fifty cents for the cussing jar. Did the warning work? Nope. Several times nope. Now his allowance for the week goes to the cussin' jar. Oh, and he didn't speak to me for the rest of the night and part of the morning.

We've discussed what will happen to the cussin' jar money. I think I might suggest we give it to the church. That would really p*ss the little bugger off.
 
CPSURaf said:
Funny, one of my daughter's good friends at school (kindergarten) is a frienemie, but mainly because they have the same Alpha female personality type. I blame me for the alpha female instinct. I can already picture my daughter being one of those mean girls :(
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My daughter's the same way. Major Alpha female personality (as is her friend). She gets it from us. :-c
 
Last week my son went on an overnight school trip. Before he left I asked him if he was excited about the trip. He said he was looking forward to it because he could get away from his momma fussing at him.

After we dropped him off, my wife was very quiet. She said she missed him already and she fretted about him much of the evening - did the bus get there okay? Were kids going to be mean to him? was he going to be warm enough?

I didn't tell my wife what my son had said. But I did tell him when I picked him up the next day how much his momma missed him.

And, of course, by dinnertime they were fighting again. Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home.
 
My wife stays home on Mondays with our son. Today, I got a text saying they were at the park down the street from our house. So at lunch time, I walked over there to meet them.

My son, 17 months old, spotted me from across the park and excitedly toddled over to me. :) It was great! It totally made my day.

Then we all walked back to the house for lunch. Stopping along the way to see a rabbit in the grass and then a cat on the fence.

You know, it is the simple things in life and I relish these moments with him.
 
btrage said:
My daughter's the same way. Major Alpha female personality (as is her friend). She gets it from us. :-c
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My daughter is also the same way, and she gets it from me too. She has a good friend of hers that lives right next door to her (at her dads) and this girl has been in the same class the last few years. I think that we need to explore having them in different class rooms next year - they love to hate each other, and it seems like every other day I hear about how they are fighting.
 
Geesh....girls! I'm glad I have only boys.

Boys will just punch each other and than be over it. :D
 
Ooof! I'm afraid I have one of these girls, too. And neither the wife nor I are really alpha personalities. It actually seems to come out primarily around two specific girls and they all three seem to love to hate each other. We had one of the Holy Terrors over the other day and there was much jealousy abounding. We asked the visiting girl what she and the Third Terror do when they get together. "Oh, we fight a lot!"' she responded, as if it were the most natural - and fun - thing in the world.

She's 5 (our Terror) and she is mostly sweet and agreeable and pleasant. But when she gets ornery, look out! Lately, she has been testing ALL the boundaries - being defiant mainly, but also whiny and picking on her brother and picking fights with the rest of the household. I am remembering this same age with our son who had his own terrible tantrums and difficult behaviors, but they were indeed very different. Most of the daughter's tantrums and defiance center around getting (or not getting) "stuff" and/or "sweets" and/or "TV/videos" to say nothing of the horrifying experience that is "brushing teeth!"

Where did this child come from anyway?!:-c
 
wahday said:
Ooof! I'm afraid I have one of these girls, too. ...Lately, she has been testing ALL the boundaries - being defiant mainly, but also whiny and picking on her brother and picking fights with the rest of the household. I am remembering this same age with our son who had his own terrible tantrums and difficult behaviors, but they were indeed very different. Most of the daughter's tantrums and defiance center around getting (or not getting) "stuff" and/or "sweets" and/or "TV/videos" to say nothing of the horrifying experience that is "brushing teeth!"

Where did this child come from anyway?!:-c
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Maybe you need to implement the "do you want to brush with the red toothbrush or the blue one?" policy. Give her some little (perceived) battles to win.

HTH
 
Veloise said:
Maybe you need to implement the "do you want to brush with the red toothbrush or the blue one?" policy. Give her some little (perceived) battles to win.

HTH
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Typically that strategy works pretty well. Our particular challenge these days centers on her testing the limits of our patience, expressed by a resounding "no!" when asked which toothbrush (or whatever it is we are trying to get her to agree to). My "well, it wasn't a yes or no question" response has not been going over so well either witnessed by the classic crossed arms and pout. The best is when she ignores all questions altogether and hunkers down for some good ole fashioned glaring! If it wasn't so frustrating to be on the front lines, it might actually be amusing.

To be fair, she has been recovering from a sickness, so I think that is making her more defiant and grumpy than usual. Still, there are days when I am frighteningly close to rocking in the corner, muttering to myself.
 
My kindergartener is the opposite of an Alpha-female, and I am admittedly worried about what kind of easily-influenced teenager, desperate for acceptance, she could end up being. She had a "best freind" she had known for a couple years, in preschool with her, in dance class, in after-school care, etc. It took awhile for my daughter to realize that girls like this particular girl want to be friends with "weak" girls because they are really bullys. Its a lot for a 6-year old to comprehend.

This girl would pull my daughter off the monkey bars and laugh, take things from her, was a hibitual lier always trying to one-up all the other kids, and she even lied to other kids about my daughter being the one to steal things, etc. :-@ Teachers recognized how toxic their friendship was and eventually the "friend" was kicked out of after-school care primarily for the bullying towards my daughter.

Of course, I think my daughter is a brilliant artist, and she was chosen for an accelerated reading program. Her knowledge and vocabulary blows people away when they learn she's only 6-years old. But, she also needs help in the social/emotional aspect of things. Removing this "friend" from her life has coincided with a huge improvement. :)
 
cch said:
My kindergartener is the opposite of an Alpha-female, and I am admittedly worried about what kind of easily-influenced teenager, desperate for acceptance, she could end up being. She had a "best freind" she had known for a couple years, in preschool with her, in dance class, in after-school care, etc. It took awhile for my daughter to realize that girls like this particular girl want to be friends with "weak" girls because they are really bullys. Its a lot for a 6-year old to comprehend.

This girl would pull my daughter off the monkey bars and laugh, take things from her, was a hibitual lier always trying to one-up all the other kids, and she even lied to other kids about my daughter being the one to steal things, etc. :-@ Teachers recognized how toxic their friendship was and eventually the "friend" was kicked out of after-school care primarily for the bullying towards my daughter.

Of course, I think my daughter is a brilliant artist, and she was chosen for an accelerated reading program. Her knowledge and vocabulary blows people away when they learn she's only 6-years old. But, she also needs help in the social/emotional aspect of things. Removing this "friend" from her life has coincided with a huge improvement. :)
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This is a complicated issue and I've been giving it more thought since Junior has started school this year. On the one hand, you'd like to see your children learn how to meet new people and forge their own associations and friendships, but OTOH you want to avoid having them allying themselves with children that are bad influences (such as the situation you describe). I guess what I'm saying is 'what's the best way to give one's children both the tools and willingness to identify and avoid 'bad' associations as early as possible?

Like I said, though, this IS a complicated issue, because kids don't typically fall squarely into 'good' or 'bad' categories.
 
cch said:
My kindergartener is the opposite of an Alpha-female, and I am admittedly worried about what kind of easily-influenced teenager, desperate for acceptance, she could end up being. She had a "best freind" she had known for a couple years, in preschool with her, in dance class, in after-school care, etc. It took awhile for my daughter to realize that girls like this particular girl want to be friends with "weak" girls because they are really bullys. Its a lot for a 6-year old to comprehend.

This girl would pull my daughter off the monkey bars and laugh, take things from her, was a hibitual lier always trying to one-up all the other kids, and she even lied to other kids about my daughter being the one to steal things, etc. :-@ Teachers recognized how toxic their friendship was and eventually the "friend" was kicked out of after-school care primarily for the bullying towards my daughter.

Of course, I think my daughter is a brilliant artist, and she was chosen for an accelerated reading program. Her knowledge and vocabulary blows people away when they learn she's only 6-years old. But, she also needs help in the social/emotional aspect of things. Removing this "friend" from her life has coincided with a huge improvement. :)
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You have to teach her to stick up for herself and also just keep an eye on those type of friends. I was much like your girl through junior high school until I finally had it with my "friend" and told her if she hit or touched me one more time I was going to knock her out. It really did change the dynamic of the friendship going into high school and really was an indicator for what was to become of her as an adult.

Thankfully RT has a very good sense of self and does not take crap from anybody. She probably could have been a "mean girl" but I've tried hard to soften that edge and teach her that she has to be kind to everyone but not necessarily like them or associate with them. Another key was finding activities that she loved that had a supportive and encouraging environment/leadership. As for the drama....I have a strict no drama policy at home and in my life in general, and tell her that it's ok to just walk away rather than get in the middle of something stupid.

I sincerely hope these lessons stick as she goes off to college in the fall 8-!
 
Heck, I see this with my 17 month old son. He seems to get pushed around by the other toddlers sometimes and is not as rambuctious. Even when he falls or trips he tends to whine more.
While I don't want a mean, tough, bully of a kid, I do want him to "toughen up" a bit and at least be a little less emotional and passive. I was emotional and passive as a kid and being a boy, it can be tough gorwing up like that.


However, he does seem to be studious, likes to sit on his own and read (look at pictures) and is an all around calm and placid kid, compared to other kids who are more difficult.

Maybe it is too early and I fret too much as a young parent.

Speaking of which, time to pick him up!!! :D Boys night in!!:D
 
kjelsadek said:
You have to teach her to stick up for herself and also just keep an eye on those type of friends. I was much like your girl through junior high school until I finally had it with my "friend" and told her if she hit or touched me one more time I was going to knock her out. It really did change the dynamic of the friendship going into high school and really was an indicator for what was to become of her as an adult.

Thankfully RT has a very good sense of self and does not take crap from anybody. She probably could have been a "mean girl" but I've tried hard to soften that edge and teach her that she has to be kind to everyone but not necessarily like them or associate with them. Another key was finding activities that she loved that had a supportive and encouraging environment/leadership. As for the drama....I have a strict no drama policy at home and in my life in general, and tell her that it's ok to just walk away rather than get in the middle of something stupid.

I sincerely hope these lessons stick as she goes off to college in the fall 8-!
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Although my oldest is just shy of 8, I also see some "mean girl" in her, and we've also tried to soften that edge. But on the flip side she can be the most caring, loving girl in the world. There's just something about the dynamics of young girls/women that I don't understand.

I've had talks with her and told her that sometimes by letting others make decisions, she's the one that is still "leading". And the more she lets others "lead", the more they'll respect her and want to be around her.

zmanPLAN said:
Heck, I see this with my 17 month old son. He seems to get pushed around by the other toddlers sometimes and is not as rambuctious. Even when he falls or trips he tends to whine more.
While I don't want a mean, tough, bully of a kid, I do want him to "toughen up" a bit and at least be a little less emotional and passive. I was emotional and passive as a kid and being a boy, it can be tough gorwing up like that.


However, he does seem to be studious, likes to sit on his own and read (look at pictures) and is an all around calm and placid kid, compared to other kids who are more difficult.

Maybe it is too early and I fret too much as a young parent.

Speaking of which, time to pick him up!!! :D Boys night in!!:D
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Although I don't have a boy, I would say it's too early to worry. I too, was a shy, passive boy, but now I'm a loud, sonofabitch!
 
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Yeah, zman, relax. It is way too early, and I should know as the father of 1.5, 2.5 and 3.5 year old boys.
 
btrage said:
Although my oldest is just shy of 8, I also see some "mean girl" in her, and we've also tried to soften that edge. But on the flip side she can be the most caring, loving girl in the world. There's just something about the dynamics of young girls/women that I don't understand.
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Do we have the same daughter? Dealing with the same traits here.

I had brothers growing up...this daugther thing is confusing the hell out of me.
 
cch said:
My kindergartener is the opposite of an Alpha-female, and I am admittedly worried about what kind of easily-influenced teenager, desperate for acceptance, she could end up being. ...
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Life happens. My mother was concerned because I wanted to fit in and be part of the crowd. (This was when I was provided with white anklets to wear, while my peers were in knee socks or Peds.) She even voiced the opinion that I would be prone to take up smoking -- smoking!! -- in a misguided attempt to join the "in" crowd.

Fast forward a decade or four. No more issues about being mild-mannered or easily misled.

HTH
 
Fat Cat

We had all boys, and we always wanted a daugher, now that we have a grandaughter, we realize that we were given what we could handle. And she is a good kid. Boys are pretty straight forward, and football or ball glove is a big deal. However we go to all of her soccer and volley ball games and her violin concerts, so we get to enjoy watching her, but then we can go home and she is happy that we were there. Every since she was a little kid she would put up sticky notes on her bedroom wall of things that she had or wanted to do, a very methodical and always thinking person. It will be interesting to watch her when she is an adult
 
zmanPLAN said:
Heck, I see this with my 17 month old son. He seems to get pushed around by the other toddlers sometimes and is not as rambuctious. Even when he falls or trips he tends to whine more.
While I don't want a mean, tough, bully of a kid, I do want him to "toughen up" a bit and at least be a little less emotional and passive. I was emotional and passive as a kid and being a boy, it can be tough gorwing up like that.
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Much as the others have already chimed in, I wouldn't worry if I was you. When he was a little fellow my son had similar experiences.

We put him in karate classes when he was 6. He is now a brown belt in tai quon do. Late last year, when some kid was picking on him and then tried to push him off a retaining wall at the school playground my son knocked him to the ground, bloodying his lip. One good punch transformed him from target of bullies to the 4th grade badass. He has had no trouble with anyone since then.

I still have the voicemail of his call to me after the incident, which I play from time to time. I have never heard him happier and more proud of himself.

When your son gets a little older, if it seems appropriate, you and your wife might consider getting your son martial arts training. It is good exercise, a confidence builder and gives him the skills to take care of himself while at the same time instructing him on the moral discipline to use his skills properly. Besides, a little guy looks so cute in his gi.
 
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