Good Enough Mom: Fear not. We have raised all our kids to be mensches.
Also, please realize I was mortified to hear that my eccentric and artistic — but utterly non-aggressive — little kid went bonkers and KICKED a teacher. When the story unfolded, however, my horror shifted to rage. Naturally, I had to teach my son the lesson that no matter was egregious act is done to us, we cannot resort to violence…unless it is in self-defense.
There is more to the story I wrote, of course. This was a private school in Westchester and after this incident, I was told that my son could only stay if I put him on Ritalin. Because he was not REMOTELY hyperactive, I saw this as insane. In response, I took my kid to the top child psychiatrist in the county who, after evaluating my son, told me that there was not a blessed thing wrong with him and that perhaps, I ought to change schools as kids like Adam thrived in a more flexible environment.
Guess what? I did just that a few years later and my son went on to a competitive private high school in NYC and Columbia U. He NEVER had an outburst like that again.
And yes, we did sent him to therapy in kindgergarten. After a while, I also started. When I look back, I see that the prime purpose of the therapy for BOTH of us was to vent our frustration at a school environment that was often toxic to a sensitive, sweet and artistic little boy.
