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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

My son was hit on the head by the swimming instructor

313 replies

ali1982 · 03/02/2011 15:50

My son came home from school upset because when he went swimming with the school the swimming instructor whacked him on the head with 2 floaters.My son told me that he was stood by the pool and that the woman was telling the class off and then she whacked him and another child on the head.I have made a complaint to the leisure center about this person and also to the school.But the school seems to be not taking it seriously.I have said that if my son was naughty i dont have a problem with him being told off but the woman should not have hit him on the head.My son is only 8 years old.What should the school do in this situation ?

OP posts:

pointylug · 03/02/2011 20:13

People who say 'muppets' are not being rude and I can't believe som eparents are encourgaing their children to be upset by this.

princessparty · 03/02/2011 20:17

YABU .You say yourself the class was being told off.Bear in mind this instructor is supervising a large group of children by deep water.
By misbehaving your son would be jeopardising the safety of other children.I think you need to get your own house in order by teaching your ds to behave, before you criticise and undermine the discipline used by those trying to control him
And seriously he sounds a bit of a wimp to be so upset by something so trivial.I agree he needs to man up

pagwatch · 03/02/2011 20:18

I call my dd a gurt numpty'.
She will be scarred for life. What with the biffing her on her gurt numpty' head too.

I have also told her to get a grip. And stop being a twerp.

I shall just stop inter acting with her. It's for the best.

Jude89 · 03/02/2011 20:22

Physical contact with any pupil or young person should be avoided whenever possible; putting a plaster on a child when necessary is appropriate: using physical contact to reprimand a pupil is not.

There is a difference between children playing dodgeball and a teacher or anyone who is responsible for children striking a child no matter what the reasoning behind it.

The school should take your complaint seriously, no matter what they assume the circumstances to be. It is their responsibility to investigate this, the incident happened "under their watch". Not taking this complaint seriously will lead to people not being willing to report more serious issues. I would register your concerns with the LEA. I think going to the police is a step too far unless your son has visible damage.

That being said; it is not the physical damage that causes the problem in the main instance. Hitting anyone, no matter how hard, shows that you have no respect for them; if you don't give a child respect as a human being how can you expect them to behave as one. Is this an example the teacher would like the class to follow? It teaches one of two things, either "hitting is ok", or "it's ok to hit people smaller than you" Neither of these is an acceptable thing to be teaching young people.

momentsintime · 03/02/2011 20:23

P.S. If your DC was a girl I would still be of the man up, stop tattle telling opinion. It's not the gender , it's the age.

pointylug · 03/02/2011 20:25

I've told my girls to man up.

pagwatch · 03/02/2011 20:26

I think that is total tosh.
I have bumped dd on the head or bum with something to hand. I have whisked her bum with an egg whisk. She has goosed me on the stairs or clunked me on the head with a pillow.

It is joking. It is affectionate and non serious. It is normally followed with laughter or mock befuddlement.
The notion that it means that I don't respect her is absurd.

pagwatch · 03/02/2011 20:28

I have previously extolled the virtues of the get a fucking grip school of parenting.
I had a small following for about half an hour back then

mumbar · 03/02/2011 20:29

pag think we read the same child rearing textbooks.

I see the tapping with floats as an extension of hands. If you need someones attention and they are unresponsive you would tap them. I really doubt the swim instructor had an malicious thoughts.

op have you spoken to your DS again? What has he said?

pointylug · 03/02/2011 20:29

I've skelped my kids' bums when they're going in/coming out the shower. They run and skelp me back. We have the utmost respect for each other.

People do not fit into these rigid corporate statements. I'd much rather we were able to let people be individuals and see words and actions in their own specific context. But I know that jude's world is the one we are closer to living in.

pointylug · 03/02/2011 20:30

I'm with you , pag.

JamieLeeCurtis · 03/02/2011 20:30

Nah I'm with you pag.

mumbar · 03/02/2011 20:31

and now x posts with pag!!

pagwatch · 03/02/2011 20:34

Ooh it's like a cult

NellieForbush · 03/02/2011 20:37

So your son wasn't even being naughty, (?waiting to get in the pool or something) but as the instructor told the class off she hit a couple of nearby kids round the head with a float?

I don't think thats acceptable or appropriate.

Shouldn't be hitting them at all and shouldn't have to leave a mark ffs for you to complain about it!

This is nothing to do with what you do at home and how you discipline your own children, a teacher/instructor shouldn't behave like this.

I would want to speak to her about it as the first port of call and try and establish exactly what happened.

usualsuspect · 03/02/2011 20:37

I'm with you pagwatch

TheVisitor · 03/02/2011 20:40

I'm with pagwatch on this too.

tomhardyismydh · 03/02/2011 21:01

People are assuming this was a friendly and playfull tap with a float. If that were the case Im with pag, however if as child of op says he was wacked on the head then no Im not with pag.

I think OP needs to establish what happened here.

JamieLeeCurtis · 03/02/2011 21:03

You are right tomhardy, but I think the balance of probabilities is that it was not a damn great nasty whack in front of the whole class and probably the teacher too

ChippingInSmellyCheeseFreak · 03/02/2011 21:03

PagsGals.com

PagsSchoolOfGetAFuckingGripSOP.com

Yep - it's the new mouldies.

Can I be the first to get a lifetime membership Pag??

mumbar · 03/02/2011 21:05

Am I wrong to be trying to imagine the swim teacher arming herself with a foam float and swinging it like a baseball bat at the OPs ds head. In front of other pupils in a public swimming pool.

Nope - just cannot picture it.

begonyabampot · 03/02/2011 21:05

I'm using this for my new friends compatibility test.

Right, so Little Johnny came home from swimming and said instructor bopped him with some floats! What do you think? Should I ...

a) rush to the school and make a complaint, possibly phone the police on an assault charge or

b) tell Johnny to stop messing around in class and man up a bit, at the most have a quiet word with instructor if Johnny seems adamant (if Jonny is acting up then he knows a possible word could mean more trouble for him).

new friends answer will probably tell me all I need to know.

mumbar · 03/02/2011 21:05

Chipping - shall I start the thread!!

boohoohoo · 03/02/2011 21:07

Where was the teacher (they are always at the side if the pool during lessons, elf and safety!). I have to stay by the side of the pool when we take the class to the pool and those poor swimming teachers have to be tough, children day dreaming, chatting, mucking around etc. Perhaps better talk to the school first especially as children have a tendency to feel injustice and can be prone to exaggeration.

DuelingFanjo · 03/02/2011 21:07

have we been invaded?

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