The Fly
There were some issues recently at my son Declan’s school with a few kids in his class saying some mean things to him. These included the ever-so-lovely, “If you won’t do this, I won’t be your friend” routine… and sometimes it got even more, well, juvenile, with downright name-calling.
The other night he was telling us about a time when one of them called him “stupid.” (Which of course, we all know, is the Holy Grail of name-calling when you are 5).
Well, my kid is a lot of things, but he’s not stupid. And even if he was, I wouldn’t tell him that.
So, we role-played a bunch of different scenarios and “come-backs” that he could say next time someone called him stupid. We even practiced the ever-popular “Shuuah!”
But my favorite was the conversation that follows.
Bryan: OK, so here is another one to say. If someone calls you stupid, you just say… “Oh yeah? Well… your fly is down!”
Declan: [huge smile and hilarious laughter] OK! Let’s try that one!
Bryan: “Hey Declan! You’re stupid.”
Declan: “Um. Oh yeah? Well. Um. YOUR… FLY… IS… DOWN!!!”
[Declan flailing around the flooring laughing his head off, in big, belly laughs]
Declan: [pause, sits up] “Um, Daddy? What’s a fly?”
How do you handle bullies at school?
His comedic timing is impeccable. I mean, to flail on the floor laughing and then deliver the punchline? Classic.
We are just beginning to role play with our almost three year old…and that is so funny – we were talking about “flys” the other day…Thanks for sharing this – it helps to prepare for what is to come when Josh gets into preschool…
Too funny.
When my daughter was being teased for being bad at math I encouraged her to get so good at math that, not only would they stop teasing, they would start asking her for help. It worked and now she is in the “tough” math class. As for your every day teasing, having a ready supply of comebacks is the best thing to do. Wit always wins in a game of words. Just don’t forget the too-smart come back. If your son delivers a comeback that is over the kids’ head (like the fly one) teach him to take advantage of any pause and say, “It’s ok, I’ll wait while you go look that up in a dictionary.”
Good comeback Lizzy! Thanks!
[...] Aimee and Catherine recently wrote great posts about bullying and the subject seems to be everywhere in the media. I am always dismayed whenever I hear about it as my heart goes out to the victims and my wrath to the aggressors. [...]