Today I thought I would talk to you about how many things can change when a child is happy.
Last year one of my youngest sons had a very difficult year that changed him into a little boy that I didn't recognise. It started when he was targetted by another child who started saying things like "You can't play because you are little and weak" this escalated to my son being punched on the nose a couple of times and then the violence got worse to the point where the boy was punching and kicking my son and had to be carried off of him.
My son went from a happy outgoing child to a very introverted little boy who wouldn't play with anyone other than his younger brother.
He would hide under his bed before school begging me to not make him go. It was the hardest thing to see we took him to the doctors, to specialists and had so many conversations with the school.
At the start of the school year I was very nervous and concerned about him because during the holidays he had started to go back to being the happy little boy that we love so much.
He has a new teacher (a male teacher) who seems to be very on top of everything. My little man comes home from school smiling and laughing. He has started to play with other children again. He talks to adults when they talk to him, instead of just staring at the floor.
At the end of term I received my sons report showing much lower grades than I expected to see. The report said he lacked attention, didn't follow instruction and could be disruptive.
This is a little boy that I barely ever had to tell off at home because he was so good, a boy who could do his older sisters homework and who could spell so well it shocked most people.
Today I had three different teachers tell me how amazing he is and how hard he works, how he listens brilliantly and completes his work with excellent attention to detail.
It is amazing to see what a difference a couple of months can make and a new teacher. When I asked him why he was so much happier this year he replied "My teacher makes me feel safe"
I feel so grateful I know its early days but it seems promising.
Tara, I think you published your post before you were finished with it... Glad to know I'm not the only one :)
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a horrible experience. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of it.
Ah nightmare, My daughter called me because she felt so poorly and I pressed publish instead of save xx
DeleteOh my heart is breaking for him... what a horrible nightmare this must have been! I'm glad it seems to be over now. Did you guys press charges against the kids who attacked him? I just want to give him a big hug!
ReplyDeleteOh my heart is breaking for him... what a horrible nightmare this must have been! I'm glad it seems to be over now. Did you guys press charges against the kids who attacked him? I just want to give him a big hug!
ReplyDeleteIt was dreadful, I didn't know what to do next. Because the young boy hurting him was the same age as him (7) and every one made excuses for him because he had problems, I didn't think I would be able to go to the police. I found out in the holidays that I could have made a complaint to the community police officer and they would have spoken to the parents. If it started again that is what I would do.
ReplyDeleteWe looked at him changing schools but that upset him more because of his brother and sister. None of the local schools could take them so we looked at private schools but that would have been so expensive I'm not sure we could have managed it so we made a decision to give it one term and see what happened and luckily it seems to be working. xx