Ask:
For those of you with older kids, when does bullying begin in schools? My ds is in 1st grade and they all still get along... no bullying or teasing. Does it usually happen at a certain age??
Answer:
For my son, it started in the 2nd grade. He is in 4th now, and it actually isn't so bad this year. But 2nd and 3rd grades were really hard for him.
Answer:
My daughter is in 1st grade and there is a girl in her class that I would call a bully. She calls other kids names and says mean things to them, including my daughter. Unfortunately, this is nothing new for this girl. I'd heard about her from another mom when our kids were in kindergarten. When my daughter started telling me about the things she was saying, I contacted the teacher immediately and nipped it in the bud. We haven't had any problems since then.
Answer:
I think it starts much earlier for girls. I remember the first grade classroom I volunteered in weekly, the teacher told me little girls were already bit**y to each other in the first grade (her words not mine). Boys tend to not start bullying until much later. Luckily my children haven't had to endure too much of that...my dd some in elem....but not much else.
Answer:
I think it's really hard to say, it totally depends on the kids involved. We had a situation with one particular child that started in kindergarten. He was a problem until he left the school just this year (my son is in 6th grade).j
No issues with my younger son, he's in 3rd grade right now.
I agree that it is different with girls than with boys. In my older son's class, there was quite a problem with the girls bullying each other, or rather one girl that caused so many problems. It went on for several years and unfortunately we lost a great family at our school when they finally pulled their daughter.
Our school has a bullying policy, as most do, and they have no tolerance for it. As the kids get older though, they don't want to 'tell' on the person that is causing problems and if they do, it often causes more problems for that child. It's really can be just a sad situation.
Answer:
I think it depends on the bully. My son had a bully situation last year that the teacher had to get involved in. He was in kindergarten.
The funny thing is he is really good friends with his bully this year! His mom was deployed to Iraq and his dad, well, let's just say he is a bit immature. Now that his mom is home, he is a completely different child.
Answer:
My son is in first grade and has that issue. However, it really mostly comes down to one kid, although there have been a couple of others. This one kid is consistent, and after meeting him, and his mom, I know he has real anger issues. Ds' therapist says the kid seems to have mood disorders. The kid sits w/ a frown on his face most times and I witnessed him yell right in my son's face twice without provocation. This kid is trouble and I can tell his mom has just thrown up his hands.
The girls in my son's first grade are quite catty and can be rude. With a few of them, when I see them act rude, I just see the mother shake their heads or laugh. That's the problem right there. They should nip it in the bud now, but they choose not to.