Bullies

Alright, this is my gripe fest for the week. I live in a small town where everyone knows everyone and my husband has a large family and is even related to many people. I don't know if everyone knows what Awanas is or not, but it's a church program for children where they learn about God. It has three different levels and they have dinner and do activities and learn songs from the Bible and also versus from the Bible. It's a pretty big deal here and all the kids love it. They have to be three and up to attend. Well, my son Gavin goes and he loves it. He's always got big stories about what he learned and what he did. He enjoys showing us the crafts he's made and telling us what he's learned that night. This is his first year attending because my kids go to bed so early and it's from 5:45 to 7:45. He is now 5 and I thought he was old enough to attend. He also loves it because he gets to ride the bus. They pick him up and bring him home. We live in town, so this is his first experience riding the bus. He thinks he pretty big stuff.
Well, last night on the the ride home some boys that were twice his age treated him very badly. When the bus stopped at our house the driver told Gavin it was his stop. Gavin is a talker and wasn't paying attention I'm sure, so these two boys started pushing him and telling him to get off. One pushed him to the ground, in the middle of the isles, and stomped his back and the other one kicked him in the face. When my husband, Chad, brought him in his face had black scuff marks on it and his bottom lip was bleeding. His clothes were filthy and his coat as well. Surprisingly, he wasn't crying at all. He was just excited to show us his new picture frame he just made. Now, somehow the bus driver didn't see any of this. I immediately called his teacher to let her know what had happened. She in turn, called the woman that is the head of it and let her know what happened. The boys that did this are now going to have to ride at the front of the bus, behind the driver from now on, and their parents were called. She also informed me that if it ever happened again or even to a different kid, they would be removed from the program.
Now, I know the kid's parents that did this. I debated calling them, but decided not to be one of those parents that complain all the time when their kid gets picked on. But, in this case my son is five and those boys are ten. Gavin is a big boy for his age and pretty tough, but he doesn't really know about bullies yet, as he's only in preschool half a day. I am proud of the fact that I get compliments all the time from his teacher and other people about how well behaved he is. That makes me proud because I really do try to make sure he's respectful and polite. I also know that Gavin would never treat another person the way he was treated. He just didn't understand why those boys treated him like that. He was just like what was that all about? If it had been boys his own age, it would have been different because boys are rough and ornery, so I wouldn't have been so mad.
On another note, my husband has told him no hitting or rough housing in school or anywhere. He told Gavin he'd just get in trouble too, and it wasn't worth it. Well, I was raised a bit differently, and I was taught never to start a fight, but, I damn well better finish them. (My Mom's words, ha). I told Gavin last night, not to take it. If it gets that bad, he better stand up for himself. My husband agreed this time. It was more real to him once it happened! I believe that once a kid knows he can't get away with pushing him around, they will leave him alone.I also asked him if he told the driver and he said no. I told him to make sure he tells him too. There are usually adults that ride the bus also, but one was sick and the man that did ride along didn't see it either! I told them they needed better supervision. There are some sixteen year old girls that ride the bus that attend youth group and are little mother hens to the younger kids. They are now going to have the girls sit with the little ones on the bus. I think that will help also.
This incident was just the icing on the cake. Tuesday my three year old, Hayes, stuck a bead up his nose. The Dr. here couldn't get it out and had to send up to Kansas City to the Ear, Nose and Throat specialist. That was an all day experience. I'm really looking to a nice relaxing weekend without any more excitement from those two!