Interesting

[wolffe]

So this post: http://viewsfromthecouch.com/2012/02/12/you-didnt-thank-me-for-punching-you-in-the-fac/

is making the rounds. It's an interesting read, as are some of the comments. As a mother of boys, I know I'll be raising my sons to respect girls and therefore women. But I also understand that they must respect themselves and they also will quite possibly try to interact with girls the same way they do with boys - in other words, wrestling and such. Near the bottom of the comments, a poster named JR King makes this point.

I'm with a couple of the commentors who pointed out that we're doing a disservice to both boys and girls where physical interaction is concerned. I know I was horribly bullied in school and felt like I had very little recourse. One of my bulliers was a teacher, and when I did take action to stop it, it got worse. I hope we're doing a better job now, but I don't know.

With all the Chris Brown at the Grammy's kerflluffle it's a very pertinent read and certainly something that all parents should think about.

Comments

[marz]

I read that a few days ago. She brings up a lot of interesting points.

I'm always on Adam to be nice to people and not to act out his frustration, but it has also created a minor problem. Adam will cry and complain almost immediately when someone does something to him (even if it was an accident). I don't have to worry about him hurting others, but now I worry about him becoming the victim because he doesn't act like all the other boys and he will start to be excluded by them.

Childhood is such a difficult road to navigate. All I can do is try to give him the tools to cope and the awareness that his actions and words can hurt others if he isn't careful.

[wolffe]

I'm pretty worried about having that issue with Jake. He's so sensitive, and not at all assertive. I'm going to have more trouble teaching him to stand up for himself than teaching him not to bully.