I don’t brag about my boys all that often. But Jay deserves it today.
Apparently, there’s a boy in daycare/summer camp who rubs the other boys the wrong way. Who knows why? Politics among 6-year-olds is no more fathomable than politics among adults.
Well, the boys spent part of the rainy Friday building “forts” indoors. Piled pillows for walls, stacked board books for battlements, that kind of thing. This one boy, “Simon,” was purposely excluded by three or four of Jay’s buddies. Again, I don’t have the slightest idea why.
Rather than go with the pack, Jay invited “Simon” to build a two-kid fort with him. So, that’s what they did. And “Simon” wasn’t left out, after all.
Now, I’m not saying Jay’s some kind of kid super hero because he reached out to the ostracized child in the group. It was no big deal, really, because I’m certain they all will have forgotten about it by Monday and the group will have morphed into yet another late-summer social dynamic. After all, school starts Tuesday.
But man, my heart grew three sizes when he told me about it this afternoon. It’s a parenting moment worth remembering. Even worth bragging on a little.
That’s my boy. THAT is my boy.
That is cool. I have seen first hand the dynamics of the early elementary school set with boys and can’t explain it. Somehow it is easier to understand with girls. Boys at that age are … more complicated than we give them credit.
DS: Take my word for it. The kid who was left out probably gets left out a lot. He will ALWAYS remember Jay’s kindness. You are doing great with those boys. Jay deserves something special. So do Beth and you. Great job Dad Scribe.
Really good stuff. I had a similar experience last year with my then 7th grader. Dave is an all around kid, a jock and not shy at all. Well, a few kids at school decided that they would target a particularly introverted kid (happens to live on the same street as us) for a little light bullying. I say light because Dave described it as these boys “busting chops” but given enough time anything can escalate. Before anything got to a fever pitch, Dave stepped in and basically used his presence to dissuade any further incident. Hearing about it from the other child’s mom was about as proud a moment as I could have as a dad. Makes it all worthwhile…
That’s very cool, Dave. Nothing more rewarding than seeing our kids do the right things.