I've been having conversations lately that I couldn't have prepared myself for... not yet anyways:
"Mumma, I don't like riding the bus, they use bad words on the bus?"
"Really hunny, what bad words?"
"Well, they say the 'f word' and the 'b word'?"
"Oh... (imagine me turning to look at Ryan as if to say, seriously, our five year old does NOT know what the 'f word' and 'b word' are!!!) well, you don't say those words... and when they do, try to ignore them and talk to your other friends about better things... ok?"
"yeah... that's what I do."
I wont even go into the emotions that went with my new knowledge that my sweet little innocent baby girl has heard the 'f word' and 'b word'... it is probably understandable - I was a little crushed. I mean, I knew at some point she would hear swears - I was just hoping it would be in ten years!
(there was actually more to her not liking riding the bus....)
I pushed a little more about it and came to find out that one of the fourth grade boys had to move to the front of the bus because he was misbehaving in the back where the fourth graders all sit (they seat the children based on grade, so that Kindergarten children sit in the front, first graders behind them, and so on, with the fourth graders in the back). But this little boy, we'll call him TJ (well, because that's his name), was sitting up at the front and he was tormenting Maddie and her little friend Haja... slapping at them, pulling on their back packs, etc. So, MammaBear kicked in, wrote a letter to the head of the bus company (at 10pm), got on the bus the next morning and told the bus driver what was going on, asked him to be more aware of it and requested that something be done about the situation, (lucky for TJ he was not on the bus in the morning)!
By 3pm (less than 20 hours later) I had a phone call from the head of the school administration to discuss my email - explain the steps that had been made to make Maddie more comfortable and Maddie got off the bus at 3:40pm all smiles!! They moved TJ's seat so that he is not near her, and she is a much happier child in the morning and on the bus!! I was very impressed with the reaction of the bus driver as well as the bus company and school administration. But honestly, I did not think that I would need to be having these conversations at this young age (mine and Maddie's!!)
About a week later Maddie and I were driving to the grocery store when she said, "Mumma, I know what the 'f word' is." As I was about to say, "Oh, yeah?" she said, "It's fart, right?"
"Well, yes, Maddie, it's fart!"
"And the 'b word' is butt huh, I just haven't figured out the 'a word' yet!"
Oh thank the good Lord!!! "Yes, the 'b word' is butt."
"yeah, I don't say those words at school, they're not appropriate for school - but it's ok that we sometimes say them at home right?"
As I'm laughing, I said, "yes, that's ok!"
I couldn't wait to get home to tell Ryan that our sweet girl had a little more time before she hears those words!!
I mean look at this lovie:
