365 ~ 2013: Day 263

I think we all have those moments when you feel like the worst parent on earth.  I have had my fair share of those moments but then you get an email from your child's teacher telling you about an incident at school that makes you realize that perhaps you're not totally ruining your kids lives!

I forgot to tell you today that Shaun had an "incident" with another student. They were reading books together and I think Shaun thought he would be funny and put his face down in the other child's book but when he came up, his head hit that child in the nose pretty hard. I didn't see this happen, but when I turned I saw Shaun sitting in a chair at a table looking like he was going to cry. I asked what was wrong and he said, "I'm in trouble>" I asked why he was in trouble as I had not spoken to him or told him to go to the chair. Then I saw the other child completely in tears on the rug, but silent. I was able to get the same story from both kids and in the end, it was a complete accident as a result of silliness.

The positive part that came of it was Shaun choosing to "Take a Break" on his own. It was the perfect example of how someone might choose to put themselves in take a break to think about something that has happened or regain control. This has never happened before so I praised Shaun for making that choice and let him know that it was a great use of Take a Break.  I could tell he felt a lot of remorse immediately and he was definitely more hard on himself than I would have expected. Then after recess, probably a half hour later, he approached the other child all on his own and apologized again. Even though someone got hurt initially, it was a very sophisticated way of dealing with the situation. He is always honest and forthcoming. He's a sweet little boy. As a mom, I thought you would be proud of him.

And I definitely was!