The "S" Word

Dear Logan,


Upon arriving to Aidan's school today for the International Potluck Party, your brother was happily playing with his friends, until it was time for the potluck.  I sat down with the other parents in the playground, after being ordered by your brother that I shouldn't just stand there and watch, but to sit down with all the other daddies and mommies.  When it's time for food, I headed over to Aidan and saw him holding a teacher's hand.  Then I was told that Aidan needed to hold on to his teacher for 2 minutes.  I immediately knew that he did something wrong and was having a little 'time-out'.  I patiently waited for the 2 minutes to be over, and then approached them.  Teacher told me that she had to tell Aidan a few times today not to hit his friends but to use his words to express frustrations.  He is still learning to express his frustrations with words, instead of crying or hitting.  Teacher said she also talked to the other boys.

When I asked him why he hit his friends.  He answered:

"M called me stupid and I didn't like that".

I literally was speechless for one second, amazed that four-year-olds knew how to use that word already.  I recovered for a minor shock, and continued with my speech about not using his hands, that it's never ok to hit, and to tell his friends that he didn't like them using that word.  I wasn't sure if Aidan told the teacher this and I couldn't see the teacher's reaction, so I wasn't sure if she was as surprised as I was.  But she did encourage Aidan to tell the teachers if something like this happened again.

On our drive home, I reminded Aidan again to never hit anyone.  I told him to tell his friends that he didn't like being called that, and to tell his teachers about it.  I asked him if he knew what "stupid" meant, but I don't think he did.  He only knew that it was a 'bad' word from playing an online Martha Speaks game on PBS Kids.  He recalled being that "stupendous" was good, but "stupid" was bad.

When we went home, we told Daddy about what happened.  I had him tell me about what he should tell his friends if such an incident occur again.

Boys.  Definitely need more time to mature and learn to control and express emotions more appropriately.  But then, Aidan is not even 5 years old.  Expecting him to be mature is a little unrealistic, right?

I know I am always mindful of the words that I use around Aidan.  I don't think I've ever used the word "stupid" to describe anything in front of him.  But that doesn't mean he won't learn it anywhere else.  I just want him to be a little boy for a little longer.  He's growing up too fast.


Love,
Mommy