Or am i being a bit pfb and overprotective?

[brokeoven]

Ds aged 7 is on half term, so we booked him into a holiday football club.

he has come home with all red eyes, when dh asked him he said a few of the older boys were being mean to him, teling him that his water bottle is like a babies bottle.
He says he is ok, but i want to march down and complain because im paying £65 for the privaledge of my child being upset and unnecissarily upset.
Poor lamb

oh dear

im ALLOT pfb arent i

ok ok ok, so how do you deal with your kids bieng upset by nasty kids?

sorry, tearful and unnecissarily upset

Well personally unless he particularly enjoys football I'd take him out. It's his school holiday and he shouldn't be feeling like this.

Yes life will contain some horrible people and he will need to learn to deal with them, but at 7 I personally thing he's too little.

Can you not just get him a more grown up bottle?

Its a sports bottle ffs! A football sports bottle....they are just being little shits cos they are older i think.

besides, im not letting some wee shites dictate to me what water bottle ds has, no way!

I can be a bit like this but it's natural to protect your children and it's hurts so much when they've been upset by other children.

My DD is now very good at saying something back to people who are unkind to her and she's become really quite assertive.
My DH was physically bullied by older boys when he was little though and now, he's adament that our children aren't bullied. He therefore makes a conscious effort to buy the kids stuff that isn't baby-ish and is seen as cool - not necessarily expensive but just so that they blend in with the rest of the kids.

Perhaps you could update his water bottle (if it is a bit young for him) and have a chat to him about telling the older boys he "doesn't care - it's just a water bottle " etc if they mention it again. I'd have a word too with those people who run though as the older ones shouldn't be having time to be mean to the younger ones and will put them right off going.

I HATED those clubs when I was little...some are well run but the one I went to was not and a boy who was twice my size had free reign to torment me and shove me about...no helper was ever looking my way!

In your case, I would change DS's bottle....what type is it? What's on it? I know he should not have to change it but the less fodder the little louts have the better.

Tell your DS to tell the lads he'll get hs big brother onto them if they dont BACK OFF NOW! and practice his loudest voice with him too!

My DD had a problem with a girl in school who would shove her during races...I practiced what to do during running..she lved this role play and it gave her the knowledge of how to stick up for herself. Not PFB at alL!

it's bullying. the people running the club need to know it is going on and who is doing it. i would tell them but wait til you have calmed down.

Cross post on the bottle situation....if as you say it is a normal sports bottle maybe they are jealous? Have they got crappy ones? Tell DS they're jealous and to ask them "What bottle have you got then? it will deflct attention and put them on the spot.

You'll make things much worse for him if you march along to complain about something as trifling as this.

I'd talk him through it, come up with a couple of solutions (change water bottle, possible responses, stop going), ask him what he wanted to do and hopefully end it all on a positive note.

Totally disagree about not complaining if you want to! DS is SEVEN! Parents who stick to the whole "Oh dont complain you will make it worse" actually contribute to bullying by being complicit in the "rules" of bullies...silence through fear.

I would ask waht sort of bottle the others have and get him one like it. He shouldn't have to, but why give them ammunition?

My football mad ds insists on a bottle that water came in from the shop, if you see what I mean. I refil them and he's fine with that.

And I would have a quiet word with the organizers in the morning - they need to know.

YANBU I felt this way when I saw 2 boys trap DD in one of those fold up tunnels at nursery. they closed off both ends and she was inside sobbing to be let out, and the poor thing wet herself They're only 3 and 4 years old and I know they probably didn't mean to frighten her quite that much but it was still upsetting to see DD (pfb) that upset.

I sent my eldest DS to a holiday club the first summer he was in school. He came home the first day looking terrified and smelling of shit as he has been too scared to go to the loo. He didn't go back!

Do you have to send him there?

He is 7, he is just a baby and he doesn't have to put up with bullying that makes him cry,

There's no point changing hisbottle to match. I was bullied at school for having long socks big tights as soon as I persuaded my mum to letme have tights they just started jeering cos I'd changed to what they wanted.
You need to teach him to be mrs assertive not fit in with what yhebullies want. Sorry for your ds

Long socks Not tights. Doh

Well i cant take him out its half term and we bith have to work this week with no one willing to help us out.

Going to get him a new bottle, and dh said he would have a word with the orgnaisers so i will ask him when he gets home.

poor little chap

Could it just have been a stupid and tactless joke?
He's sucking on the sports bottle, they tease him and don't really understand that he's very upset and taken it to heart?
10 year olds can be dim that way unless it's pointed out to them, so have a word.
It's not bullying unless they target him and repeat the behaviour more than once, it's unkind and unpleasant but not chronic.

I would speak to the organisers just to give them a heads up & ask them to keep an eye on it.
They don't have to pull in the parents or anything but I am sure they don't want the younger children being bullied.

Hope he has a better day tomorrow :)

Why not try a rugby club, doubt very much such behaviour would ever be tolrated/take place with rugby fans/juniors.
[boakkkkk at football]

Perfect soolution, rollmops - take him away from all the nasty, common football players to join the little gentlemen with the oval ball.

My dd was teased about her lunchbox by kids in her class. I wasn't being dictated too either and dd had chosen it but dh said to get her another one as it just isn't on. She was happy getting another one so I did. Look at it that you are stopping your child being upset, not jumping to someone elses tune.

I suggest you have a quiet word with the coaches.

They may already be aware of the incident, and may have taken steps (my DS was on the receiving end of a similar incident; and tearful at home. I went in all guns blazing, to discover that his account was accurate but not complete - the staff had witnessed the incident, spoken to the other boy, and then spoken to the whole group about appropriate behaviour).

If they are not aware, make them aware and ask for closer supervision.

And I hope your DS has a better time during the rest of the week.