Bored Bully Betsy

*sigh* I'm really not OK with this.

Yesterday I had a long talk with Ms. Kenya, Betsy's teacher. While she raves about Betsy being 'so smart' and picking up new words all the time she tells me we have a couple behaviour issues to address.

1. Betsy isn't listening to her teacher. Ms. K thinks it's because Bully-Betsy is bored. She thinks Bets is ready to move up to the older class, but until the kiddos move to the new location for the Child Development Center in December they aren't moving many kids around. Betsy has time out with Ms. K every now and then but it's really an issue of selective hearing. She tunes out what she hears if she doesn't want to do what she's told. (I thought I had 11 more years until she became a teenager to face this issue).

2. Betsy is a bully. Not so much BETSY but Betsy + William = Bully-Bralleys. Apart the kiddos behave better, but when they are both at school the play rougher than the other kids and tend to 'tag team' the others. Ben wants to know how someone so little (because Bets is pretty petite) can be the bully...but I kind of think she's like Madison...who doesn't KNOW she's a little dog. When she's alone, or with other kids Betsy is really gentle. I saw her sit down and hold Ryder's hand when he cried last night. And she tried to bring him a little people school bus to cheer him up.

I told my mom... "I don't want to have the bad kid!!" and she assures me I won't. I think we just need to reinforce playing gently together. No pushing, no pulling hair, no tackling. The thing is...when they are together and Betsy and Will do these things they don't get upset or react unless something REALLY hurts. So it's hard to tell Betsy not to push William when he thinks it's a game and he likes it!

Oh well, we'll figure it out. Suggestions are requested. Ben tells me he and Bully-Betsy are going to talk tonight about babies behaving badly.