My DS accidentally hurt his friend

Just tell your son he needs to find a new game as play as fighting just leads to someone getting hurt. The mum already doesn't like you/your son by the sounds of it, so this isn't going to make much difference I doubt! You can't control how they behave at school but definitely discourage play fighting. Praise him for going straight and telling the teacher though.

There’s two or three boys who get hurt playing/ messing most days. If your ds was honest about it I wouldn’t worry (probably wouldn’t worry either way as long as the teacher knew what happened and the boy was ok)

Invite the boy over for a play date or trip to the park.

That way both you and your son can show the mum and her boy that you aren’t what they think you are.

Too over the top.

Seriously, this happened in school, the teacher dealt with it. You don't need to give it a thought.

Draw a line under it, and in the unlikely event that the other parent asks you about it, direct her to the teacher, because you weren't there when it happened. You can simply say that you've told your son to be careful in future, and that play fighting is a bad idea.

If he writes a sorry letter, he may well be teased for it. He's apologised already. Let it lie.

How old are they?

If the mum was friendly I might mention it to her and say your son owned up and felt bad, but since she's intimidating and unfriendly I wouldn't bother and just leave it. It sounds like your ds will be more careful next time. It was mature of him to own up.

Yes that would be really sweet

If you have the mums details I'd send a nice note saying sorry and that you hope her son is ok now

I wouldn't approach the child's mother. Presumably your son had apologised to his friend and they've been told not to play fight any more? I'd leave it at that.

You need to separate your own insecurities from the situation. It’s okay if this woman doesn’t like you, few people like or get on with everyone they come into contact with, her disliking you has no impact on you, so let that bit go. The school will have told her exactly what they’ve told you about the accident: that both boys were roughhousing, there was no malice, and DS told a teacher that his friend was hurt which is what friends do. If you tend towards anxiety anyway then I suspect she’d find you approaching her with a big flappy anxious apology will just make the whole non-event unnecessary awkward.

Don't worry about it. It was an accident, kids hurt themselves playing all the time.

If she doesn't care for you anyway, who cares? The kid got a red mark, he's fine.

I wouldn't give this another thought except to tell your son that roughhousing isn't an acceptable way to play.

I wouldn’t approach the other mum in this situation. School has handled it, it was accidental, and there is no major injury or broken skin. Remind your son not to be too rough at school and don’t give it another thought.

I would speak with my child and advise that play fighting isn't ideal, and to refrain from that in the future.

I wouldn't approach the parent at all. Something similar (well, worse) happened to my son thirty odd years ago!! Another boy bit him and the staff explained to me and apologised and described the situation - a squabble. I was OK with it - these things happened.

But then the mother of the biter approached me - at first full of apologies to which I just said no problem, but then she escalated into saying that this was very out of character for her son and implying that my son must have been in the wrong first. Obviously her feelings had got the better of her. It would have been far better if she had just left it to the staff and not got involved, she only made things feel worse and I felt quite wary of her after that.

You do absolutely nothing. Tell your son that although he hurt someone, it was an accident and he was honest with the teacher, and that you are proud of the fact he was honest. I work in a school and have 12 years school experience in a support role. You will be surprised how many children will lie to your face, regardless if the incident was an accident or not! Lying is part and parcel of children, but the earlier they learn to tell the truth if something goes wrong, is much better. The school pulled you to one side and explained the situation. It's a school matter, and if the other parent has an issue, then they take it up with the school, not you personally. If the incident happened outside of school, then obviously, of course they should approach you directly.

There’s nothing to do, you’ll just be creating drama if you approach the Mum. They’re children and will get hurt, hrs owned it so that’s good