Mean Girls

When I was a kid, I was teased.

I was awkward - I wore glasses, had terrible teeth, and liked odd clothing.

So, naturally, some of the other kids picked on me. I won't go into specifics, it was so very long ago, and in the end, it doesn't matter. 

But, I've been thinking about it recently.

My sweet, funny, smart and perfect daughter was teased. 

Nothing bad - some of the girls in her class were picking on her lunch.

They told her that her turkey sandwich smelled funny. That her salami was yuck. So she did what any other five year old kid would do. She threw out the lunch I made for her, packed in princess zip lock baggies. She threw it out and snuck school lunches instead. (She can do that, I should note, because school lunch is 100% free in our school.) This might have gone on even longer, but one night, curled on the couch together at bedtime, she got very quiet. She whispered to me, "What is bullying, mama?" So we talked about it. I told her to tell me if it happened again.

And it did.

So I sent an email to her teacher. Mrs. B called me the next day, (on election day) and told me the school had a no-bullying policy. That she would speak to the kids when everyone was back in class. She reported back to me too - and I heard Claire's side of things. The three girls were asked to talk together, each got to say their piece, and it was resolved. They were also asked to stand in front of the class as an example of how bullying could be resolved.

And, most important, I am happy to report that no one has made a peep about Claire's lunch ever since.