My neighbor's DD is 3.5 yo. Exactly one year older than my DS. My DS really likes playing with her toys and hanging out with her older brother who is 6. The 6 year old is a compassionate, fun, sharing kinda kid. The little girl, however, is just, well, MEAN.
She has pushed my DS onto the ground for no reason at all (they weren't even interracting during this incident), she's called him names ("knucklehead" for one) and is generally a little mean and, for lack of a better word, nasty, to my son and to us.
I supervise all interactions between DS and this little girl for the reasons above. The kids all play together in our yards and we have a fairly close relationship with these neighbors. They are good people and they DO make boundaries/rules for their kids.
I'm wondering, though, how much of this kind of stuff I should let slide. You know, 'kids will be kids' kinda thinking. And what portion of it should I call to the parents' attention? When this child has been rude or mean to my DS or to me, actually, I've reminded her that "In our house we say please when we want something", or "If you'd like that toy from DS, you can ask him nicely for it", etc.
Tonight she saw DS with a truck that is her brother's. She said (and I quote), "Give me that truck or I'll KILL you". I said, "X, if you'd like that truck, you can ASK DS for it back".
My DS loves to play with these kids, but it's getting so I have to watch every interaction very closely. How much of this, these kinds of words and actions, can I expose him to or how much should I? Should I just accept that DS is going to hear this kinda thing? He's only a little guy and so impressionable. It makes me sad.
What do you think? TIA.
:
She has pushed my DS onto the ground for no reason at all (they weren't even interracting during this incident), she's called him names ("knucklehead" for one) and is generally a little mean and, for lack of a better word, nasty, to my son and to us.
I supervise all interactions between DS and this little girl for the reasons above. The kids all play together in our yards and we have a fairly close relationship with these neighbors. They are good people and they DO make boundaries/rules for their kids.
I'm wondering, though, how much of this kind of stuff I should let slide. You know, 'kids will be kids' kinda thinking. And what portion of it should I call to the parents' attention? When this child has been rude or mean to my DS or to me, actually, I've reminded her that "In our house we say please when we want something", or "If you'd like that toy from DS, you can ask him nicely for it", etc.
Tonight she saw DS with a truck that is her brother's. She said (and I quote), "Give me that truck or I'll KILL you". I said, "X, if you'd like that truck, you can ASK DS for it back".
My DS loves to play with these kids, but it's getting so I have to watch every interaction very closely. How much of this, these kinds of words and actions, can I expose him to or how much should I? Should I just accept that DS is going to hear this kinda thing? He's only a little guy and so impressionable. It makes me sad.
What do you think? TIA.
