Bullied

The only grouse about the trip to My Gym is the horrible incident of a tot pulling Chipsy's hair. That boy came and stood next to Chipsy just after he walked down the see-saw (he was walking up and down the see-saw, as if it was a balancing beam). I was standing just a few inches in front of Chipsy when the boy suddenly grabbed a chunk of Chipsy's hair which resulted in him crying out real loud. It happened so fast that I couldn't stop him in time and he just wouldn't let go despite his caregiver's pleading. I was shocked and my mother bear instincts instantly surfaced and I screamed at him. I must have looked pretty scary to him as he let go after a few seconds. 

I scooped up Chipsy and cuddled and soothed him, but I was so angry with what happened. If that place was less crowded, I probably would have slapped that boy or pulled out a chunk of his hair as retaliation which was what my instincts had instructed me to do. It took lots of restraints on my part, honestly, to only be screaming at that boy for hurting my baby. I really wouldn't have cared whether he understood it or not. At that instant when I was staring at his small hand yanking at Chipsy's hair, every bone in my body just wanted to cause him some real pain to make him let go of my boy. And as I cuddled my sobbing baby who was red from crying, my heart ached so much and I was so overcome by anger that I raced over to the boy and his caregiver and shouted at her that she should leave the place with him or I will complain to the Management. Then I turned to the boy and with my fiercest stare, I told him that I hope his hair get burnt by fire. Of course he wouldn't understand. But it didn't matter.

They did leave the premises shortly after, though I wasn't sure if it was due to what happened or maybe the mother arrived to pick him up. I later spotted the helper pointing at me while talking to the mother, which I presumed was referring to what had happened and what I had said. Usually, I am quite relaxed about conflicts among kids during playtime as I believe in letting them learn to sort things out amongst themselves, but I am always nearby, just in case. I rarely intervened, except when in situations like this or when there is potential for injuries. This time, I was ready for war and aggression if there should be one and I wasn't at all apologetic and certainly didn't feel the need to if the mother was to confront me. Well, there was none. They left.

Never underestimate the mother bear instincts. I think I will really kill to save my babies if I have to.