moinab Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 We're going to WDW this weekend. We've been planning this trip for several months, and my kids have really been looking forward to it. This week, my son said he doesn't want to go. I finally got it out of him, that other boys in his first grade class have been telling him that Mickey is "stupid" and not real, and that WDW isn't "cool." They also told him he's not "cool" because he brings his own lunch to school. (He's a picky eater - there's no way he would cafeteria food.) After we talked to him and his teacher talked to him, we convinced him that the other kids are just envious. I know this is just the tip of the iceberg, though. He has mild Asperger's syndrome, so he's going to be singled out for this kind of thing (and worse) as he gets older. Why do people - even little kids - have to be so hateful? *sigh* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hattuchili Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 This really sucks. I hope your son is doing fine and you all will have a blast at WDW. Maybe I should come over and tell the kids who have been so bad with your son, how real Mickey is... After that they will never again say any bad word about Disney! --Soren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scaparri Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 What kind of kid thinks Disney World isn't cool? Especially first graders! When I was growing up, that's something you bragged about, no matter how old you were! And what kind of kid thinks getting lunch at school is cool!? I mean, most of the kids were jealous that I brought my lunch back in first grade! It was better than the crap they served in the cafeteria. Anyway, that's really sad. Sorry to hear that your son is going through that. Kids are just cruel. I like to think envy really is the root of the problem, because what kid doesn't freakin' love WDW and what kid would rather eat school cafeteria slop than a lunch from home? I hope he can understand that and have a good time on your trip. The trips my family took to WDW are some of the best memories from my childhood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moinab Posted December 11, 2007 Author Share Posted December 11, 2007 I really do think they are envious. Because of the Asperger's, he's in a full inclusion classroom, which means there are a lot of kids with learning disabilities, which also seems to translate into a lot of low-income kids. We're certainly not wealthy, but we're pretty comfortable, compared to a lot of the other families. We think the reason he's the only one who brings his own lunch is because most of the other kids get free lunch. That's how my husband explained it to him. Even though we live in FL, there are still lots of kids who never get to go to WDW or even Orlando. I'd be willing to bet that the kids who said those things to him would love to go to Disney, if they had the chance. It really is just very sad, that, even at this young age, they feel the need to knock down somebody else, to make themselves feel better. I'm just glad that he's happy about going, again, after we talked to him about it. We'll be meeting friends there, so he'll be with friends his age who love Disney and Mickey as much as he does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coasterlvr_nc Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 ^ im glad that hes going with friends that also love Disney! ^.^ But i cant stand people/kids who have to be mean like that either because they can or because they are jealous. Unfortunately that is life and thats how the world works.... I hope that you find a way to get the other kids to stop teasing him, after all he did not do anything to deserve this kind of treatment! If you don't mind answering though, what is Asperger's? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moinab Posted December 11, 2007 Author Share Posted December 11, 2007 Asperger syndrome is a neurological disorder that is generally regarded as a high-functioning form of autism. People with AS tend to be of above-average intelligence, but deficient in social and communication skills. They are often described as "quirky." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissie Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 I'm really sorry to hear that Moinab! Kids really can be cruel. I agree with everyone else, I definitely think that jealousy is the problem here. Im sure your son will have the best time at WDW!! Look forward to your TR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaceace12 Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 As a teased kid from Grades k-8, the bully's will grow out of it and the ones that don't are not many. Many of the teasers/bully's are friednly now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coasterlvr_nc Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 ^ same thing happened here its just a matter of how long it takes... I truly hope that the bullies stop soon, cause its not helping anyone, even themselves... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bspellx5 Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 It seems like bullies can almost always find something to make fun of someone for. Personally though, I think middle school was the worst in terms of bullying. Everyone was mean to everyone pretty much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christianscoasters Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 How is Disney World not cool? Everyone at my school wants to go to Disney World! And I'm in high school! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaceace12 Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 Middle school was were it was the worst for me. I am not in a rich family by any means, but the school I went to had all the rich kids. I was tripped and other stuff. For my final year in middle school, I moved and went to a school with kids with the same kind of wealth as me. Never had a problem until a kid from the other school was transferred to it. Then it wasn't that big of deal. High school seen little bullying, but not much. This is where allot of the bullys became less bully's and more friendly. I will offer this to any kid having bully issues, try to make as many friends as possible. I made friends and am still friends with those, but wish I would have made more in high school. By friends, I mean good friends, not just casual friends. Also, try to treat everyone the way you want to be treated. But at some point, you might have to push back a little to stop them. And remember, everything happens for a reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scooterdoug Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 I'm so sorry to hear about this. I used to be bullied in high school (until I went to another school). I know how terrible it feels. I am in a graduate program to become an elementary school teacher. One thing is for sure, I will NOT tolerate any sort of bullying in my classroom. I couldn't believe how many of my teachers simply looked the other way. On the other hand, I'm glad to hear he is excited about WDW again. I mean, come on, what 1st grader would not want to go to WDW?!? Heck, I'm 31, and I'd be thrilled to visit WDW! -Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRapidsNerd Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 Sometimes, people lash out at others because something is missing or unfulfilling in their own lives. Such a waste when that energy could be used to better one's self. There's an old martial arts saying about better extending one's own line instead of cutting another's Chin up kiddo. Meeting the mouse and his friends is cool. That's why BIG kids go all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pufferfish Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 I used to take my lunch to school constantly and I never got picked on for that. In fact most of the kids I would eat with would fight for my leftovers. Also when I was younger, and still today, WDW is one of the most popular places amongst the students at my school. When I told everyone that I was going there this past summer, they kept saying how envious they were of me. It's things like this that makes you wonder what is happening to these kids who bully at their home. They probably think that Mickey is fake and uncool because of what their parents have told them. I hope this bullying comes to an end for your son. I hated being bullied in middle school. Made for the worst three years of my life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airforcekid Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 This just reminds me about those kids at Columbine.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebl Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 I learned long ago that kids often teased when they were in fact envious. Some kids when I was growing up didn't have both a mom and dad (separated, divorced, etc.). I did and sometimes caught crap because I had a "complete" family. Your son brings his lunch. That shows that Mom has time for him, and that can make some kids jealous, too. Some kids can be flat out mean. It's a good idea to keep in touch with your son's teacher to keep this in check. Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shesaidboom Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 Is it possible your son is bragging about going to Disney and almost throwing it in other kids faces? Not in a mean way, but maybe talking about it constantly, and about how great it will be and all the cool stuff he'll get to do there and going on and on out of excitement? My brother has Aspergers and he did things like this all the time. He has a lot of difficulty reading social cues so he just didn't know when to stop and he couldn't tell when other kids weren't interested or just wanted him to stop and leave them alone, until they were outright mean to him. Your situation actually reminds me of exactly what happened when we went to Disney World as kids! If this is the case, you've already told him that the other kids are jealous, but maybe tell him something along the lines of you know he's very excited but to try to tone it down a little around his friends because they're probably feeling sad that they don't get to go too. Not that it's an excuse for them to bully him, or that he shouldn't be able to talk about something he's very excited about...but toning down the excitement and talking about it less, if he can, might help a little. When my brother was able to do this kids were generally much nicer to him. I hope you guys have fun at Disney! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wes Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 Does anyone else feel this situation is being over analyzed and these stupid kids (first grade puts them at what...6-7 years old?) are just being stupid kids? Teasing and bullying happens all the time, and has happened since forever. Kids are dumb and have very little control over their emotions and say stupid shit. Obviously being a mom means you rightfully are protective of your son, but to a certain extent you have to assume this stuff is going to happen. It sucks, but it's part of life and growing up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raptorcrew2002 Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 Hey kids are mean and cruel. It happens, will never change, that’s how it is. Mickey’s not real? j/k. That sucks but hey that’s kids. (Reason 1,213,476 why I only have dogs) Best suggest I would make for this. Watch it. It sounds like it could turn into physical bullying in the future. A group has singled him out, and found out he does not fight back so you bet they will continue with it and it could get worse as they get older. Are they jealous, maybe. My money says they know what gets too him. The whole idea of being a bully is finding someone’s weak point and exploiting it. Options: #1. Give him some George Carlin videos and albums and let him learn some really good come backs. #2. Bring to the attention of the school. Most likely those kids parents will not care but worth a shot. After all this is harassment. #3. Self defense classes. Great work out, and a good instructor will teach discipline. Planning ahead is the best course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIP Psyclone Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 Is it possible your son is bragging about going to Disney and almost throwing it in other kids faces? Not in a mean way, but maybe talking about it constantly, and about how great it will be and all the cool stuff he'll get to do there and going on and on out of excitement? My brother has Aspergers and he did things like this all the time. He has a lot of difficulty reading social cues so he just didn't know when to stop and he couldn't tell when other kids weren't interested or just wanted him to stop and leave them alone, until they were outright mean to him. That's a good point, and I'm glad "she" brought it up. The other kids would have no idea your family was planning a trip to WDW unless your son was talking about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coaster05 Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 As an 8 year teacher I would only classify a few students as true bullies. By that i mean kids who pick on others for doing nothing. 90% of my kids who say they are bullied is because they talk massive poo-poo to the other students all day to the point that the other student threatens violence. Then the trash talker usually comes to me and wants me to save him from the beatdown he has been asking for since lunch. Those kids never semm happy with my response of "What did you expect when you said all that stuff" I am not making light of this situation I am just speaking from experience that most kids don't pick on the truly nice kids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanks4me05 Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 I really do think they are envious. Because of the Asperger's, he's in a full inclusion classroom, which means there are a lot of kids with learning disabilities, which also seems to translate into a lot of low-income kids. We're certainly not wealthy, but we're pretty comfortable, compared to a lot of the other families. We think the reason he's the only one who brings his own lunch is because most of the other kids get free lunch. That's how my husband explained it to him. Even though we live in FL, there are still lots of kids who never get to go to WDW or even Orlando. I'd be willing to bet that the kids who said those things to him would love to go to Disney, if they had the chance. It really is just very sad, that, even at this young age, they feel the need to knock down somebody else, to make themselves feel better. I'm just glad that he's happy about going, again, after we talked to him about it. We'll be meeting friends there, so he'll be with friends his age who love Disney and Mickey as much as he does. Hey, I have Aspergers, too. But I guess FL's "mental disability policy" is a bit different than upstate NY, as I have never been in anything other than a normal classroom. (Unless I have the definition of full inclusion class wrong - which I assume it is somewhere between a normal class and a special ed class) Then again, I am one who posses a very high intelligence along with a sophisticated knowledge in the english language. (Und die Deutsche Sprache, auch. ) But so does Einstein. And Bill Gates. And Thomas Jefferson. And Isaac Newton. But seeing with that lower income coming into the factors, I can easily see that those kids would simply be really jealous - as their parents can't take them to Disney World. As for the whole aspect of bringing your lunch isn't cool - once again, easily understandable as you said that a lot of them have free lunches themselves, therefore basically are forced to eat what (assuming) sub par food is served at the cafeteria. Personally, I very rarely brought my own lunch, but that is because I actually like the foods at the cafeterias at school. Maybe that means that the food in upstate New York is actually good, or I'm just plain food crazed and will eat almost anything. Which I think it's the latter because I have been lately putting Mustard, Ketchup, BBQ Sauce and Salsa (when its a Taco day, because the Tacos are really the only meal that they serve and I don't like) on my Cheeseburgers ... So, I bet it's just jealousy, seeing as I basically have supreme bragging rights throughout my entire school career as not only had I gone to WDW a good 4 times, but I have been on a total of 84 roller coasters across six states and Ontario.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wes Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 I basically have supreme bragging rights throughout my entire school career as not only had I gone to WDW a good 4 times, but I have been on a total of 84 roller coasters across six states and Ontario.. Hahahahhaahahahhaahaa. Seriously, no one cares. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thefitness Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 Does anyone else feel this situation is being over analyzed and these stupid kids (first grade puts them at what...6-7 years old?) are just being stupid kids? Teasing and bullying happens all the time, and has happened since forever. Kids are dumb and have very little control over their emotions and say stupid poo-poo. Obviously being a mom means you rightfully are protective of your son, but to a certain extent you have to assume this stuff is going to happen. It sucks, but it's part of life and growing up. I couldn't agree more. Coming from someone who is still 'growing up' there will always be kids picking on other kids. What really surprises me though, is that these are 1st graders! When I was in 1st grade I don't think any of us knew how to make fun of each other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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