Our 4 year old has in his class a child that is pretty close to being a bully. He’s one of those kids who does mean little things as soon as the teacher’s back is turned: taking your chalk, pushing, that sort of thing. As you may remember, our little guy doesn’t back down very easily.

Unfortunately, this combination has been getting him in trouble for hitting.

We’ve been working very hard to get him to use his words, even when he’s really frustrated. The teacher recommended that we bribe him with stickers. Every day that he doesn’t get in trouble for hitting or pushing he gets a sticker.

“Sticker days” are now a regular occurrence, I’m happy to say. They’re much more common than non-sticker days.

The other day, I asked my daily question when I got home: “Hey big guy, did you have a sticker day!”

He smiled his big smile, “Yep!”

His mother, however, wasn’t so happy. “You did have a sticker day, but did you get in trouble?”

The little guy’s smile faded and he nodded glumly.

His mom wasn’t going to let him off the hook so easily, though. “Were you shaking your tush at the other kids during lunch?”

He started to object. Apparently, he wasn’t the only one at the lunch table, shaking his backside at the other kids. His mother, however, was ruthless. “Yes, but you didn’t stop as quickly as the other kids, did you?”

He shook his head.

I couldn’t help myself. I had to turn away to keep them from seeing me laugh. Some things are just too bizarre to get angry about. Besides, it sounded like he wasn’t getting in trouble for the shaking, but for not being quick enough to get away with it. That’s a lesson he can learn without me.

I’m just glad he wasn’t patient 0 for this one.