Teasing

Many people think teasing is funny. What is so funny about it? Generally, it is criticizing others trying to make the teaser look good. I simply don’t like it. Children watch adults or their older siblings and then copy them. It seems as if the children who tease have been teased themselves and don’t  like it. Then they find a way to tease someone else when what they really need to do is get the teaser to stop teasing them. That is usually difficult as the older child sometimes feels they have the power over the younger child and without realizing it can inflict their unhappiness on them.  Many times parents do not even know this is  even happening. The first time I saw my son teased and made fun of, I was so surprised I couldn’t even speak. I did, however, find my voice very quickly and immediately addressed the parents of the children who allowed the teasing. It happened on the ball field. We had moved to a small town and my son was the “new kid.” He was chosen last and placed with the boys who couldn’t make the first few teams and with the girls who simply wouldn’t be chosen for the top teams. You have to remember that this was approximately twenty-two years ago and times were different. Schools were just beginning to allow girls to play baseball. He faithfully attended practice every day after school and I was there for his first game. While all the children were warming up, two girls started teasing my son calling him names and generally being rude. What was really sad was that my son was a great hitter. He scored two home runs that game but I didn’t hear one word of congratulations from the teasing girls. They on the other hand struck out every time. We were only there for one season and then moved back to Texas. My son was in the Dixie league and his first year he scored the home run that led his team to the finals! In the Good Gus Series I made sure that all the children got along with one another. They may not have always agreed, but there was no teasing or name calling. If you are looking for a book that demonstrates to your children teamwork, try “The Cattle are Restless.” The books shows the entire town of Pecos pitching in to solve a problem.