Kids Say The Darndest Things

Tonight Cody’s friend Michael was outside, and Cody was eager to go play with him. On his way out to the backyard Cody also noticed a neighbor boy out whose sister acted meanly toward him last time they played together. In fact, Shawn and I have both seen the children behave aggressively to Cody and other children in the past, so we have at times avoided play times when they are out. Last time it was probably the worst incident, so Shawn and I had a feeling we were going to have to speak at some point with the parents. Anyways, Cody asked me before going out if the child would be mean to him, and I informed him that if either she or her brother were mean to come tell me and that he did not have to play with them. So he ran out, and I got Anna ready to go out and play. I noticed from the window Cody not playing, even with Michael, but was instead chatting the ears off of our one neighbor lady and the mother of the children we have had problems with. He chatted for almost 10 or 15 minutes, and it soon occurred to me that with all his chatting he very probably spilled the beans as to why he wasn’t playing. “Oh, Great,” I thought! The next thing I see is Cody running up to our back door. I open it, and he tells me, “I have to tell you something.” He then informs me that he told my two neighbors, the mom of the two children being one of them, that the reason he wasn’t playing was because, “he is mean” (pointing out the one neighbor’s son). Yikes! Shawn and I have questioned many times as to how we might need to approach the mother some day as she appears to turn her head to her children’s bullying. How do you address your feelings??? Well, I guess Cody took care of that for us! Gotta love a child’s honesty!