Classic Parenting Moment: Dealing with Mean Kids
Over the last several days, my family has been attending the local 4-H Fair. We’ve taken great pride in raising show poultry and the time had come for the work of the kids to be judged.
Everyone was so excited and proud - UNTIL a lame little twit with a horrible attitude came along.
Only a teenage boy would find humor in an adult rooster being called a cock. One of these days, when I’m hanging out in my after life, I’m going to find the moron that started that whole thing and give him a what’s what and why for! Until then, society is forced to live with these little twits who are developing boils on the butts of society.
After taking some prodding for their birds and cage identifying cards, the kids moral began to falter just a bit. In steps a friends dad to save the day. Dad spoke only a couple of words that let the kid know he was heard, seen and not mustering smiles from the crowded room. The kid left and didn’t return to the poultry barn.
Last night, our family attended the Farmer Olympics. We’d taken the time and effort to have fun shirts designed for us to wear. The shirt has our family farm logo on it — the logo has a rooster and hen on it.
I bet you can’t guess who stepped in and attempted to ruin that family fun too?
As any good mom would do, I stood back and observed the little boil boy from a distance waiting for the opportune time to step in and resolve the issue of him having his random brain farts.
The time arrived! He was with some young girl he was trying VERY hard to impress.
I walked over, turned my own back toward him a bit and invited him to throw out his best rude comment. He looked at me with that puzzled look men learn early on to use when they’ve been caught red handed. I told him I was full aware of the comments he’d made in the barn and the comments he was making about the kids poultry shirts and let him know if he wanted to go ahead, comment on mine and get it over with.
While turning several shades of red, he told me he was only joking. I responded back that I knew he was joking but it was rude and I wasn’t going to tolerate it.
Before I left his side, I told him if I EVER heard him making another comment to the poultry kids about their birds OR their shirts, he’d better be watching over his shoulder because I would find some way to humiliate him in public and I’d do it in a VERY big way.
On the drive home, my husbands son smiled and said, “I’m glad to have you as a step mom.”
I knew I’d done the right thing. I’m thinking that kids going to be haunted by the image of chickens until the day he dies. And my own children were able to witness problem solving without screaming or physical altercations of any kind.
Tags: bully, mean kids, family, problem resolution, problem solving
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1 opinion for Classic Parenting Moment: Dealing with Mean Kids
Angela
Jul 20, 2007 at 3:06 pm
I love your family farm logo! :)
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