Hurt Feelings.....

Joshua has been playing with our neighbor's children, a 1st grader and 5th grader. Yesterday morning, he told me that they have been calling him "annoying". He was pretty upset by it.

I told him that if they bring it up again that maybe he shouldn't invite them over to play. They love to play over here because Joshua has several motorized vehicles. They come from a family of 9 kids and from what I can tell don't have any powered vehicles.

He came home yesterday and said that he didn't want to play with them that day. The 5th grader called and asked to come over. I explained that Joshua was upset that he was called annoying. I explained that friends don't usually call each other names. He then proceeded to ask if he could play with Delaney instead. :). I told him that I didn't think he should come over for that day.

I told Joshua this morning to tell him that he had hurt his feelings and therefore didn't feel like playing with him yesterday. They share a bus stop at the other child's house so I really hope they can get along.

We did talk to Joshua about the need to be less bossy. He tends to want to be the leader and run the show.

I wish I could protect the kids from harsh words but know that it is all part of the growing experience. It still hurts to see your child hurting. Parenting is definitely not easy!