When it comes to playground etiquette, what are the rules for disciplining another kid who hits, pushes or otherwise bullies your child? I don’t know but I feel like I need to know.

Basically, I look at it like this – if it’s a minor problem that doesn’t put my kid in danger, then I wait to see what happens. It’s a good learning experience for my child to speak up for herself or at least to learn that there are times when bad things happen to good people, so to speak.

Of course, I also wait to see what the other parent or caregiver will do. That’s a learning experience for me. Plus, even something like hitting and pushing is normal behavior for smaller kids, so I try to be non-judgmental about it. The offending child may not even know why he hit, he just hit.

Now, to be sure, if I feel like the situation is dangerous, will continue uncorrected or is otherwise typical M.O. for the child, then I’ll say something. Instead of saying, “no hit,” I’ll more than likely say, “we don’t hit other children,” or “please don’t throw sand,” or an equally firm but forgiving statement. I don’t know if that’s the right thing to do, but for now it seems to work when we’ve encountered a problem.

It’s a sticky wicket, as they say, navigating what to or not to say to another person’s child. How do other people handle it?

photo credit: D Sharon Pruitt