But in the meantime...fourfosterkids, this is something that should be talked about a little more with the teachers. There is a big difference between a child telling her "Johnny isn't sharing " and " Jonh took me by the shirt and drug me off the ball field".

Yeah big difference. I have three boys 10, 8, and 6 and there is a big difference in reaction when the oldest takes a ball a way or wants to play dodgeball with my 47lb 6 year old. Did I mention he wants to use a softball....no a softball!

Just be a polite pain or a squeeky wheel....

fourfosterkids YEAH to your principal, i want to switch to YOUR school....doing whats right , and best for the kids. YEAH i say, and LISTENING to parent, now that is what being a principal is all about!! you are lucky to have agood one.

Fourfosterkids - That's excellent news!!! It just goes to show that parents are the first and best advocate for our kids. Congratulations for following through for your son and being such a wonderful role model for him.

Hopefully your principal will see this as a springboard for creating positive change on the playground.

Well, I am happy to say that the student was expelled for the remainder of the school year. His actions this morning as well as some trouble he had gotten into yesterday was cause for expulsion. Thank you all for you advice and sounding board.

fourfosterkids - if your principal is not receptive to your concern and doesnt act, consider it a bit of adult bullying (belittling your concern,ignoring you, minimizing it etc) i would be very concerned if your head of school did not have a zero tolerance policy for bullying. they themeselves set the tone for the teahcers and aides who supervise the playgrounds,so the msg has to come from the top. at our school, i find recess is social time for the staff, and they dont always supervise. check out dontlaugh.org for some helpful infos on bullying.

Well, no, he can't 'defend' himself against a much bigger kid but he can 'protect' himself from a much bigger kid. Every playground has it's safe and dangerous spots. Trust me, the kids intent on causing harm know the hidden spots and congregate there. Unless, or until, the staff steps in, your son needs to know these spots as well. Maybe he would (and should) like to have free run of the playground and feel safe and protected at the same time, but that isn't his current reality.

Your son absolutely did the right thing by telling you and you, in turn, by telling the staff. Hopefully they'll react quikly and make it safer for all of the students.

Suggest 'grade' zones in the playground. That works well.

What rules do the monitors follow? Ours are not allowed to congregate and chat with each other. Each is assigned a specific area of the playground and must keep an eye on it.

Train (retrain) monitors for signs of agressive activities. In a large group of running, screaming, playing kids it really can be hard to see which ones are merely rough housing and which ones are seriously and purposely being hurt.

Good luck with the prinipal. I'm anxious to hear how it works out for you.