The topic of the weekend

Remember how I said there was this one kid in Declan’s class who acts out all the time? The one who screams all day, is constantly rude to other kids… and is even worse to his parents (and I mean RUDE – like “I hate you” and “you’re stupid” are regular greetings for Mom and Dad, who seem to be on valium 24/7 and laugh his behavior off on a regular basis). And in case you are wondering, we are almost positive this boy is NOT a special needs kid.

So, Friday, as Jenny was getting into the elevator at pick-up time, she witnessed this boy call a classmate the n-word.

Yes, THAT n-word.

Twice.

At the second time, his father finally said his name in a admonishing tone that was incredibly similar to the way Mr. and Mrs. Brady spoke to their kids when they were being naughty. That’s IT. No apology to the girl’s mom (who was standing right there), no other admonishment, NOTHING. That boy knew who he was using that horrible word on… and why. A 4 year old knows how to use that word to hurt people. It just breaks my heart. Oh, and the little girl? She is special needs.

To make matters worse, Lily caught a whiff of her parents talking about the situation that evening and said, “_______ said ‘fuck you’ to his dad the other day.” Clear as a bell.

Jenny had already informed the school of what she witnessed in the hall, and when they heard the lovely F word come out of their daughter’s mouth, they are now considering yanking her from the school. Lily is a sponge for her surroundings and “tries on” different personalities. Jenny can usually tell when this little boy has a bad day, because it continues for them at home with Lily. We are lucky because Declan is pretty intimidated by this kid and just stays away from him.

Bryan and I plan to see what the school’s plan of action is, and if they don’t do anything, we may have to stick our noses in it too. Even though we didn’t witness his latest and greatest, we have seen this kid in action enough to warrant concern.

Jenny and I (and in turn, Bryan and I) hashed this out all weekend. It comes down to definitely not wanting to be on a witch hunt for this kid and his family – but we need to look out for our kids! How much can bile you allow from one boy at the expense of a whole classroom of other children?

And also, the only person I want Declan learning the F-word from is ME. (Kidding, just kidding!)