Push comes to Shove

There are two reasons we have this blog. One is so that friends and family who don't get to see the kids regularly can still keep up with what is going on and see how the kids are doing. The other reason is the blog is like a baby book where we keep track of milestones and events for each child.

With that second reason in mind, sometimes I hesitate in writing about an event. Xander's first fall down the stairs that resulted in his first trip to the ER is missing. Also missing is the picture of Xander stark naked and covered head to toe in lotion. So should I tell you about Xander hitting kids at school? I will, though it's not an event to be proud of.

While picking up Xander from Pre-Kindergarten on Monday, the teacher held me back to talk to me. She said that she has talked to Xander about keeping his hands to himself on repeated occasions. He's had to spend time on the Thinking Chair for pushing kids. On Monday he punched a student.

Yikes, not something a parent wants to or expects to hear. And it's surprising because Xander always talks about how he loves his classmates and he often gives them hugs when he gets to school or leaves.

I asked him questions to figure out what happened. Xander said that the other student was looking at him and was too close so Xander pushed him. I asked if he apologized (he did) and we talked about other ways he could have handled it (asking the student to stop or just walk away). After a quiet ride to pick up his sisters Xander broke down into sniffles saying he was disappointed in himself for hitting someone.

That evening Xander had to tell Dad what happened. Chris and I decided that as punishment Xander was having his Legos taken away for a week and would not be allowed on the Jumpstart website for a week. He is dealing with it pretty well (although he keeps asking me to play on the website so he can watch).

The next day I was going to mention the punch to the other student's mother but did not see her before school. After school I saw her as we both picked up our kids. Xander was too quick for me though, he ran up to the student, told him he loved him and gave him a big hug. They laughed and ran along to their cars. So I'm assuming there is no lasting bitterness there.