We went to the mall yesterday for me to return something and Kirk was sweet enough to come with me and take the kids to the little play area while they waited. When I was finished and got back to the play area, the first thing Kirk said was, "You missed all the excitement! Even the police almost got to come!" Of course, he had some explaining to do.
Apparently, there was a little boy that was being very rude to Anthon, calling him names, and following him around relentlessly. Allow me to have a proud parent moment because Anthon did not retaliate at all. What a good boy. Anyway, Kirk was keeping tabs on the situation, and at one point, Anthon walked into a little area where Kirk couldn't see him directly, and, of course, the other boy followed. They were in full view of the other boys' mom. Pretty soon, the Mom starts saying, "Chris, Chris, Chris," repeatedly, but to no effect. So, Kirk gets up to go see what's going on and he sees this boy completely bullying Anthon and knocking him into the railings (while the other Mom is watching, and not doing anything, by the way), and sweet Anthon is doing his best to avoid him and not hit back (which, frankly, I'm surprised he didn't do!). Kirk, being the fabulous father that he is, picks "Chris" up and sets him down away from Anthon, and then brings Anthon to sit by him on the side for a bit to give him some loves and to talk a bit. Chris' mother went ballistic. Literally, hysterical. She was saying, or rather screaming things like "You have no right to touch my son! How dare you!" Yadda, yadda, yadda. Crazy woman! Anyway, Kirk kept his cool (not surprising, for those of you who know him) and just tried to explain that if she wasn't going to restrain her child, than he was perfectly entitled to protect his. She threatened to call the police and was really quite out of control. A lady who had been sitting near her, and who had seen the whole thing, came over to Kirk and told him that she had seen everything, and agreed that he should be able to protect his child when another is physically threatening him. Kirk got her number, just in case he needed a witness, but eventually Chris' mother calmed down and everything was okay. Phew! What a crazy situation!
Needless to say, I was proud of Kirk for the way he handled it. From praising Anthon for not being rude back to the little boy, even before any of the craziness started, to paying enough attention to realize that something was going on beyond his direct line of vision and for doing something about it even though the other parent wouldn't get off the bench to do anything, to staying calm, to getting contact info for a witness, to being a good example to Anthon of defending yourself in a calm and dignified way; Kirk definitely had a good parenting moment!
4 comments:
Way to be Kirk!
Wow! Those mall areas can be crazy.
Are you sure that is the real story Kirk? Just kidding, sounds like you were the epitome of diplomacy! Way to go!
It's the real story! What I didn't share was that Kirk was a bit nervous about the lady following through with her threat to call the police because he did in fact touch the kid--not roughly, and only to move him away from Anthon, but he couldn't deny laying hands on him. He was grateful for the witness that sided with him, which, I think, made him a little more confident in remaining diplomatic:)
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