is 5yo too young to be bullied??

I think my 5yo is being bullied at school. The same playmate (who initially was DC's BFF) has been excluding DC from playing together with a group of kids at recess, on the bus and even made DC cry during class ("bully stole DC's toy and threatened to throw it away). The "bully" did get reprimanded by the teacher for this last incident. This weekend, "bully's" mom must have realized what happened, because DC came home with a handwritten "I'm sorry" card and all was well for 2 days. Then, AGAIN, DC came off the bus crying saying that "bully" was being mean again in the bus. Is DC too sensitive? If so, what can I do to help? I try to encourage DC to find new friends, but DC can be shy and still, despite all this, insists "bully" is still a best friend. My heart is breaking.

is 5yo too young to be bullied??

So sorry. No, 5 isn't too young. My DS was bullied last year (when he was 4-5) by 2 boys, and then this year they hit him at recess. Thankfully for us, the meaner of the 2 boys isn't in DS' class so it's not a constant thing, but it's still upsetting to know he's still dealing with it.

Try to talk to the teacher to have him/her keep an eye on your child more. Maybe they'll be able to help keep them apart.

is 5yo too young to be bullied??

my son started getting bullied in kindergarten. its disgusting. if you have a relationship with the mom i would reach out to her. i've done that before and it helped.

Re: is 5yo too young to be bullied??

Not too young, sadly.

I do think you need to have a conversation with your child about the qualities of a good friend. I bet there are picture books out there on the topic. As long as your child keeps going back to this other child, things will not change. Your child needs to recognize that this kid is not a good friend, and walk away. I know it will be hard but this will set a pattern for a long time to come.

We did go through something similar when DD was in second grade. There was a child who DD really liked, but did a couple things that upset her a lot. Not bullying, but insensitivity that made DD cry once and upset her additional times. We talked about it and I told her it was fine to distance herself from this kid- not to be mean but to put some space and realize it was ok to not be tight with this kid anymore. They now have a cordial relationship but DD is wary of getting too close. It really sucks that we have to deal with this as parents!