Damage Control

You do your best to teach your children to be good people, but then you have to send them out into the world where other children get to have their say. And let's just say that some parents can impart some very interesting tidbits upon their kids. Tidbits that they then pass on to your kids.

And then you are left perfecting your best parental damage control.

There is a boy in Brennan's class that I am not too fond of. He is a bit on the wild side, tends to get into a lot of trouble and he makes alot of comments to Brennan that make me want to hit him upside the head.

Last week, he teased Brennan because Brennan admitted that he still had a blankey at home. (Given that I have a blankey at the ripe ol' age of 38, Brennan did not know he was stepping into a kindergarten minefield by admitting he had one.) Brennan came home upset and tearfully asked me if he had to get rid of his blanky soon because they were just for babies. When I assured him he did not, he clutched his blanket and smiled. I told Brennan just to ignore this little boy and if anything to feel sorry for him that he doesn't have a nice soft blanket to make him happy.

This week, the same little boy told Brennan that he hates "fat people." Brennan recounted the conversation for me at bedtime. My stomach clenched with anger, but I managed to keep a straight face when Brennan told me this boy told him that "all fat people are weird".

"And what did you say back Brennan?" I asked, trying hard to let him have his say without my jumping headfirst into my afterschool special lecture of accepting people of all sizes, colors and creeds.

"I told him he was wrong. I said fat people aren't weird. They are just like us. Just with bigger bellies!"

I breathed a big sense of relief. Sometimes, your kids can handle the damage control all on their own.