Bullying

Yep, my 2 yr old is being bullied.  :(  Ethan started at a private Pre-school 2 mornings a week a few weeks ago.  I thought it would be a great opportunity for him to socialize with other kids, learn new things, and have a little time away from me to work on independence.   The class consists of 9-10 boys (I can't remember if they all ended up enrolling) and two of Ethan's friends are in the class as well (Matty and Max).

Everything started out quite nicely and Ethan came home singing new songs and told me he was having fun.  To keep Ethan safe, we hired his babysitter to attend with him.  Chelsey is there to change his diapers, keep him safe on the playground, and to assist him when needed, but really since the class is full of 2 yr olds, her biggest job is keeping the other kids from falling on Ethan, or playing too rough, etc.

I had prepared myself that an accident could happen, or Ethan could get hurt from being his wild little self.  I did not expect to be dealing with another kid actually trying to hurt Ethan.

Last week when I picked E up, Chelsey informed me there had been an incident.  Ethan had surgery 4 weeks ago to place rods in his legs and is still recovering (although doing quite well).  As T approached Ethan, Chelsey reminded him to be careful of Ethan's legs.  Ethan was sitting on the floor.  T proceeded to lift his leg and started to lower it over Ethan's legs, intending to stomp on him.  Chelsey was able to block him, so Ethan wasn't hurt this time.  I got angry that T tried to purposely hurt Ethan and intended to discuss it with E's teacher this week.  I did not get a chance to do that this morning and when I picked E up today the situation had definitely gotten worse.

The kids transfer to other rooms during the 3 hrs they are in school.  Ethan was using his walker to walk back from Art class with Chelsey by his side.  The teacher and the aide had gone into the classroom with the other kids and Chelsey thought she and Ethan were in the back of the line.  She tries to keep him back a little so the other kids do not trip over his walker or bump him.  Apparently T was lagging behind and he came up behind Ethan and pushed him down. Ethan fell forward and the walker fell over on him and apparently his legs were under it at an odd angle.  Ethan screamed and cried and was so upset he was shaking.  :(    This all took place 15 minutes before I was due to pick him up and when I got there he was calm.  I assumed that since he was calm, he was not hurt.  Chelsey did mention that Ethan wouldn't stand or use his walker after this happened.  His cries were loud enough to attract the attention of the Director.

Once I heard all of this, my blood was boiling.  I took Ethan and walked down to the Director's office and asked her what she was going to do about T.  I also explained that this was the 2nd incident.  The Director said she was aware of the situation and would be contacting T's parents but she needed to talk to the Teacher to get more details.  I have no idea yet what the outcome will be but needless to say, we want this kid away from Ethan.

We are not sure if Ethan's foot is broken, but he is definitely having pain issues and cannot walk on it like he was before this incident.  I am guessing it is maybe a crack or a sprain.  Either way, if he is still having issues in the morning we are going in for X-rays.  I will certainly be notifying the school about his injuries as well.

I really hope we do not have to remove Ethan.  It certainly wouldn't be fair that he would have to miss out playing with his friends and leave Pre-school because of a bully, but we also have to think of his safety.  I'm praying for a favorable outcome from the school.  I will post again once we have more news.