I keep dwelling on an incident at the playground the other day. Bruce was having a playdate with his friend and some other children were also there who were around the almost 4 to early 4 age ranges. One of those boys was very vocal and definitely an alpha type (like Bruce). Somehow they started a game where Bruce was the receiving end of hostility and being labeled as the bad guy. It's one thing when a child volunteers to play the bad guy as part of pretend play, another when he is labeled & pounced on. I don't normally lecture values to other peoples' kids (other than safety issues) but I kind of lost it. Here I am lecturing a pair of 3-4 year old boys about kindness & that type of game not being a good game (besides the fact that if they continued to dog pile my boy he would turn around & finish it). Why do kids do such cruel things ... they don't even realize that they're hurting the feelings of the other kid (which is just as if not more damaging that sticks & stones). How can they at the age of 4. They're like too many roosters in the yard. Because of Bruce's SPD and growing up with a sister labeled with SLD I am seriously paranoid about how other children will affect his emotional growth. On the other hand I know he desperately needs those interactions. Mom said it would be hard ... I've noticed that Bruce has an especially hard time with other boys who are alpha-like (vocal, extroverted, dominating, sensory seeking)... who are like him. Some he fights with with a lot of negative energy coming out. Others he seems to do better with although there is still a lot of conflict ... but it doesn't feel nasty. Is this a boy testosterone thing? I know when we were girls there was playground pecking order maneuvers but it was mostly done through verbal or symbolic violence rather than physical. My 5 year old boy has already gotten a letter home for getting into a fist fight during recess and he started it! Apparently the other boy (who wasn't even looking in his direction) destroyed Bruce's invisible spaceship! Would this be easier to deal with if I'd had the experience of growing up with brothers?
On a more positive note, for those who know about my struggle with fibromyalgia & arthritis, I've had amazing improvement with removing all grains & legumes from my diet, acupuncture, Core energy balancing, & a magnetic mattress. I've managed to get off all but one of the pharmaceuticals (including all the painkillers) while spending a fortune on supplements & herbal analgesics. I feel better than I have in the last 5 years (so far). I highly recommend the books of Sherry Rogers, the Garden of Eating (thanks for the loaner Cecily) and local practitioners Barbara Maddoux, Robert Carpenter, & Lee Cartwright, and the far infrared sauna.
Sorry there are no pictures but I do have some great ones of the kids that I will post soon.
