Health challenges and school conflict

Yesterday when I picked up our son and daughter at school for lunchtime, his teacher said that he had lice in his hair, as did his sister. While we were talking, one of his classmates tried to take away his drink cup. This was right in front of me, so I told the kid to give it back.

So last night, we did the standard shampoo treatment for them, as well as changed their bedding. The treatment also includes going through their hair with a fine tooth comb. We now understand the term "nit picking" better.

This morning I did the treatment, as I felt itching in my scalp. In combing through my hair, I found some bugs. Yuck! So now I need to go through the treatment again in 3 days. We're doing lots of laundry as well.

Later this morning, our old son (age 4 3/4) was in an altercation at school. His teacher said that he got pushed over by one of his classmates this morning. (It turns out to be the same kid who tried to take the cup yesterday). Our son bumped his head and was visibly upset when my wife picked him up for lunch. While at home, he complained about an earache and ringing in his ear.

I called the school near the end of lunchtime and asked if they thought we should take him to the E.R. Because he wasn't vomiting or unconscious, they thought that he was ok. When I got off the phone, his mood seemed to have completely changed and was doing much better, so we took him back.

We'll still need to monitor his health, as well as the relationship with Louis-Rudolph, as our son and he don't appear to be getting along. We requested the school to advise his parents of the situation, since he seemed to be the one who provoked the situation.

It's hard to see my kids go through difficult situations. However, this is part of their education into life. There will be other bullies and difficult people in their lives that they will need to learn to deal with.

Of course, I don't plan on just being a laissez-faire father who lets whatever happen without ever intervening. If I happen to see bullying going on in the playground, then I normally will step in, whether it's my kids being bullied or doing the bullying. Because of all the violence that kids see out there, they seem to not understand the potential grave consequences of certain of their acts.