Need advice - Is this bullying at the bus stop?

[Anonymous]

You are the problem. Your fourth grader does not need her MOMMY waiting with her at the bus stop, and CERTAINLY doesn't need her MOMMY rushing over to tell the bigger kids to stop pushing her special snowflake out of the way. There is no reason the kids need to "line up" to get onto the bus anyway.

You caused this. You lit a fire under your DD's ass that she needs to not let the bigger kids assert their bigness, and she picked a fight when she should have just made a joke - sweeping arm gesture "After YOU!".

Go HOME, lady. Your English is fine - your overprotection of your DD which actually causes more problems is NOT.

[Anonymous]

15:08 you are a real piece of work. No wonder we have bullies at school. It's because they have you as a parent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't put up with this. The school can send a monitor to
the stop or on the bus if they have to. This is absolutely
bullying - physical bullying. Those kids need to be banned from the bus if it happens again. None of the 6th graders I
knew at a FCPS school last year when DS was in that grade
would EVER have done that. It's not normal.

This is not bullying. Rude, unexceptable behavior, yes. Bullying? Not yet.

Bullying includes targeting of a specific child, not just being jerks to everyone around. It could evolve into bullying, especially if mom is jumping in and telling the other kids to let her kid go first.

Mom, if you want to help, talk to the school about the general bad behavior of these sixth graders, and give them the specific example of shoving past the other kids.

Don't do what you did. You are just going to make the situation grow to a point where your daughter will actually be bullied, given her age. (If she were a 2nd grader, I would say different, but your daughter is one of the big kids now)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:15:08 you are a real piece of work. No wonder we have bullies at school. It's because they have you as a parent.

I teach my kids to not push in front of others. But I also teach my kids that life isn't fair, not everyone follows the rules, and to learn when to stand their ground and when to walk away.

Not that I'd ever be waiting with my 4th grader at a bus stop, but if I saw older kids push mine out of the way I'd bring it up when she came home from school and just say, "Yeah, some people are jerks, don't you be one of them," and leave it.

[Anonymous]

At what age do your children walk to the bus stop alone?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At what age do your children walk to the bus stop alone?

Not until my puny, daydreaming kid starts paying attention to his surroundings and is physically large enough to fight off a stranger. Our bus stop is several short blocks away (down/over/down/over) and the streets are empty that time of day.

At our last home, our stop was within sight distance, so he walked alone starting at 7-8

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At what age do your children walk to the bus stop alone?

Not until my puny, daydreaming kid starts paying attention to his surroundings and is physically large enough to fight off a stranger. Our bus stop is several short blocks away (down/over/down/over) and the streets are empty that time of day.

At our last home, our stop was within sight distance, so he walked alone starting at 7-8

That little 10 year old in Colorado was walking to meet friends at a park within sight distance from her house when she was taken. That really spooked me and reinforced my decision of not yet allowing my kid to walk alone to the bus stop.

[Anonymous]

This is not a bullying situation but it is inappropriate behavior. I would contact the school simply to explain that your neighborhood has an issue with bus behavior that, up to now, you chalked up to older kid/younger kid superiority but now it has become more intense and the bigger kids are getting physical. Just ask that the safety patrol moderator speak to all the pastrols and remind them of their duties. The patrols have a field trip each year and our school uses that as a reminder to them that if they are to get a reward for their activity, they need to earn it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At what age do your children walk to the bus stop alone?

2nd grade. Bus stop is down the street and around the corner - 2 blocks away. In 1st grade, I sent her out the door when the 4th grader was walking by so she wouldn't walk there alone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:15:08 you are a real piece of work. No wonder we have bullies at school. It's because they have you as a parent.

+1.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At what age do your children walk to the bus stop alone?

Not until my puny, daydreaming kid starts paying attention to his surroundings and is physically large enough to fight off a stranger. Our bus stop is several short blocks away (down/over/down/over) and the streets are empty that time of day.

At our last home, our stop was within sight distance, so he walked alone starting at 7-8

That little 10 year old in Colorado was walking to meet friends at a park within sight distance from her house when she was taken. That really spooked me and reinforced my decision of not yet allowing my kid to walk alone to the bus stop.

A 61 year old was abducted from the Springfield mall. There are tragedies at all ages. It shouldn't stop you from allowing your kids age appropriate independence

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:15:08 you are a real piece of work. No wonder we have bullies at school. It's because they have you as a parent.

Her tone was off, but the essence of her post was dead on.

OP, you should always think hard before you escalate. This one, not worth it. However, now that you've created a "situation" for your daughter, you really do have to pay close attention and make sure that normal sixth grader crap doesn't turn into bullying.

[Anonymous]

If an adult were to shove another adult to the ground like that, it would be assault. D.C. Criminal Code 22-404, with penalties of up to $1000 and 180 days in jail.

A toddler might not know better, but a 6th-grader damn sure should, at what point do we demand a stop to it?

[Anonymous]

When I was in 6th grade, if I had been caught shoving a 4th grader to the ground, I would have been in deep crap with my parents.

[Anonymous]

Did someone actually push/shove the child or did the older kids just want to be first, rushed past her to get on the bus first? I think people overuse the word "bullying" these days. Yesterday saw an article where a teacher was accused of 'bullying' a student because the student had allergies and the teacher had used a scented candle in her classroom.