Drama Queen, Bad Parents

This week I was reminded of a story my parents love to tell about me.  I was a preschooler, and it was my sister’s birthday and our grandparents had sent her money so that she could buy her own gift.  I was not listening to my parents about the fact that my sister had money to spend, and they were not getting her anything.  Instead, I stood in the shopping cart screaming about how mean they were being and how much they did not love me.  I pointed out all the other children in the store and how much their parents loved them because they were buying them toys.  My parents where both amused and embarrassed as most parents would be, however my sibling was furious.  I had sucked all the joy out of what was to be her special time.  My Dad was forced to remove me from the store so my sister could pick something out without any of the drama.  Other parents were looking at my parents and shaking their heads, turning away, and muttering about how their child wouldn’t do something like this. Looking back on it now everyone can laugh at it and talk about what a drama queen I was being, but in that moment it wasn’t so funny. 

Anytime, I see a child doing something similar in a classroom.  I try to make eye contact with the teacher and smile and let them know it is okay.  I step in and lend a hand where I can.  We work through the situation together and then later we process it.  I try to help the teacher see the learning experience for the child in the situation.  I let them know that I think that they did a good job with the child even in the middle of a difficult situation. 
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When a child is behaving in this manner it can be exceedingly difficult to continue to be calm and rational, especially if you have other children you need to look after.  It is important for the teacher to feel supported and not judged.  Sometimes it is too easy to tell the teacher what they should do in this situation, however it is just as important to let the teacher know what you saw them doing right.  Giving positive feedback is just as important with teachers as it is with children. I encourage everyone this next week to see what a teacher, a parent, a guardian and/or grandparent is doing well with a child and tell them about it.

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