Rough day

Yesterday was a very rough day for us. In the day , the teacher sent us a picture that Cayen bit a girl and the bite looked bad. However, the bite didn't exactly look like it's a fresh bite. Also, we understood that the girl had barged towards him. Usually we would have been very apologetic and assumed that Cayen was at fault. However, an incident witnessed in late afternoon changed our perspective.

When we arrived to pick Cayen, it was early so we observed him from outside. Then we saw a bunch of guys hitting him with paper and pencils. Teacher looked up briefly and looked down again. The hitting continued . And after a while , when we were about to intervene, teacher shouted for the boys to stop. 

Then at home when we were washing Cayen's hair, we saw some glue in his hair. When asked, he said his classmates always put glue in his hair. This was the second time he had said it . The last time he said it, we didn't think too much about it because it might have been accidental or he might actually be the one to do it himself. 

However, with the hitting we saw in the afternoon, perhaps Cayen might actually be right. And for all we know, his recent aggressive behaviour might have stemmed from self defence over time. But since this is the first time , and that kids fight all the time , we decided to let it slide. 

In any case, I have asked for the teachers to look out for such bullying and instances where crowds of kids are surrounding him because all these scratching or biting from him might have been for own self defence.  While he probably was also guilty as the aggressor in many instances,  key learning is that we wouldn't be so quick to jump to conclusions based merely on what teachers have updated us in future. It's important to also check for his side of the story since teachers seldom witnessed the start or cause of the conflict and reported mainly on the outcomes. 

And I'm also teaching him now to ask bullies to stop or to tell the teachers, as an alternative to retaliating using violence or suffering in silence. 

Anyway, given what happened in the day, it was then concerning where he started to say the following: 

C : I'm very angry recently because things are not going well! 

Ah Pa: why? (Concerned) 

C: I can never catch Lapras and Snorlax because they are too big (Snorlax) and too rare (Lapras). I'm going to give up. 

Ah Pa: ah pa never gives up , I will catch for you . I can't promise when but I will catch for you.

C: cannot, Snorlax is very difficult to catch and we can only catch Lapras in the sea.

Ah Pa: we have prepared a surprise for you near the sea for your birthday. maybe you can  catch some Lapras. 

C: not sure Lapras or Snorlax will come out 

Ah Pa: Cayen ,you should never give  up. Remember, don't give up. Never say never , you have to try even if it's difficult. Ah Pa trusts you, we are a team, we will do it together. 

C: I don't want birds and all those, I only want shadows. 

Ah Pa: we are a team .

C: blue team mates