teasing...

yesterday I had a conversation with my ten year old son that started... "dad... why do people tease?"


it was tough
this is an era very different than my era
so much of the teasing and bullying has been removed from the kid culture of today
but...  not entirely
much has stayed the same... especially on the playground


it intrigued me to think about the kids teasing my son 
sure... he is not the best basketball player
but on the field trip to go skiing it never occurred to my son to point the finger and laugh at all the kids who were less than proficient on skies
never at the pool would he crack on a kid's weak swim stroke
so... why does he have to be taunted for his effort on the basketball court?


I do not watch sports on television
which has it such that my kids do not watch sports on television
so they do not see professional football players and professional basketball players and all their celebration dances and all their taunting of their opponents


I try to nurture positive competition in my boys
not negative competition
which has me agitated when kids treat my boys in a way that they would never treat them


The Bully Project
http://thebullyproject.com/