Has your preschool child been hurt by a playdate bully?

photographer: BreAnn Bennett
Get playdate bullying help for your preschool child by using 5 simple rules. These simple measures will make it hard for preschool kids to bully each other during unstructured play time. Your preschool child may be the bully, or may be the kid being bullied all the time. Either way, the best time in a child’s life to teach them how to treat others is when they are in preschool. Playdate bullying left unchecked only turns into bullying at school as children age.
Let me tell you a story about playdate bullying….
I recently took my 4 year-old son on a playdate with a boy his age that he has known at least two years. When we arrived, however, we were surprised to find an older neighbor boy there too. Something in my gut made me uneasy, but I didn’t mention it to my friend. Just after we were in the door I caught the other two boys bullying my son with a “gang-up” style shoot-em-up squirt gun activity. My son had none. I had to stop them and talk with them about playing nice and not bullying.
We stayed a couple hours, ate lunch together, and I watched the boys as they moved freely in and out of the house. I did not witness any more playdate bullying that day. At the close of our visit I reminded my son to thank his playdate friends and tell them he had a good time. He said no, very candidly, and I was admittedly embarrassed in front of our company. I had no idea that he had been the victim of playdate bullying. …continue reading »