Kids Say The Darndest Things
Teacher here. One day, during lunch duty, a four-year-old raised her hand. She cried that the boy next to her said he was going to go to her house, kill her mom, and bury her in the yard while the girl watched. I knew I needed to report the incident immediately, but first, I tried to console the girl. I said: “That would upset me too if someone said that, but sometimes people say things they don’t mean to hurt us”.
At that moment, I was cut off by the boy in question, whose reply sent shivers down my spine. “I did mean it. I’m going to kill her mom!” Of course, when I reported it, it was brushed off. The kid had a known behavioral problem, one that actually led another teacher to quit, and the school’s disciplinary action against him was always, “Don’t pay attention to him, but when he’s good, reward him”.
I couldn’t even hug the girl to make her feel better.