mean girls and rude boys

I don’t know what happens between the ages of 3 and 6, but something within the personality of some children goes terribly wrong. I have taught 3 and 4 year olds who were the sweetest, kindest, most giving souls. I could only imagine a bright future for these angels whom I was proud to teach, observe and nurture for a short time in their lives.

Fast forward to kindergarten and some of my little angels have changed drastically. The girls are mean, spiteful and fresh. The guys are just rude. They are not nice to each other and disrespectful to their teachers and parents.

Recently, I watched one of my beloved three-year-olds get up from his seat as another little girl sat down next to him. He made a disgusted face and moved to sit with another boy in her place. He was broken. Fast-forward two short years when she is in kindergarten and turns into a mean girl.

I’d like to offer words of wisdom on how we can make sure this doesn’t happen, but I don’t have a proven recipe. In this case, I talked to the girl about what she had witnessed and how she hurt the feelings of her classmate. I explained to her that she doesn’t have to be friends with everyone, but she has to be kind and respectful to everyone. How would you feel if someone treated you that way?

I urge parents to continue to demonstrate appropriate behaviors that their children can learn from. When your child hears you or a sibling making fun of someone else, he learns to be mean. When a father is rude to his spouse or friend, he is teaching his son to be rude.

It takes a lot of work to show kindness, patience, and understanding of others. You are your child’s primary teacher and are on the first line of defense in keeping your little angels sweet throughout their lives. Let’s work at least harder to pass kindergarten.