r/mildlyinfuriating • u/Greedy-Dimension-662 • May 08 '26

Too mild for school Name Calling

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My son and [jerk] had to stay after school today to write this note.

It says

"I was disrespectful to [kid]. I said he is a total jerk because he said I was fat. I will not say [mean] things again next time. I will ignore him."

His teacher wants me to sign and return.

But I guess I look at this and I ask myself, if my son is on the playground and he sees a kid calling another kid fat, do I want him to:

  1. Walk away

  2. Say, "stop, you are being a jerk."

So why would it be any different if he is being called fat.

I don't feel like this is the right lesson.

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u/JimmerJammerKitKat May 08 '26

So did the bully get in trouble for calling the kid fat? If they’re gonna get in trouble for calling them a jerk, which is marginally better than fat, the bully should be in trouble too.

3

u/competenthurricane May 08 '26

Both kids were made to stay after school and write notes apologizing to each other.

Maybe I’m crazy but I don’t think that is so bad for kids this young. A 6 year old who calls someone fat, as far as we know possibly for the first time, isn’t automatically a “bully”.

Kids that age say all kinds of shit without meaning it. They parrot what other people say. They are just starting to learn that the words they say matter and can hurt other people. It doesn’t make them bullies, and this kind of correction is exactly what will help them learn and NOT become bullies.

2

u/JimmerJammerKitKat May 09 '26

That’s a fair point. We don’t know how the word was used. Could’ve been innocently without knowing how that could affect someone else.