Hello, I just joined the group. My name is Leslie. I am married and we have a son 6yrs old. We live in MO.

I am the product of abuse and bullying. So I understand what my child is going thru however being able to fix it is another thing. My boy will be in 1st grade this year. I hope it is better than last year. I have always known that kids bully other kids in grade school, but I had no idea it would start out in kindergarten. I was not the least bit worried. However one month in I noticed my son changing from very happy and excited to be going to big kid school to hating to get up and go. He started wetting the bed every nite and then he was coming home all bruised up with his clothes torn.  I was never notified of a problem by the school so I couldnt figure out what was going on as my son would not open up. Finally he started talking. He was being bullied by 2 boys in his class both boys were 2  whole years older than him and had been held back twice. The one has some sort of problem he takes meds for the other is just plane mean. As I complained numerous times to the school very little was done. Teacher, principle and counselor all blew me off. I volunteered at the school for field trips and parties and it was on these occasions I witnessed my son being overly nice to these kids. All of them, the whole class room was just full of mean kids. My child I had previously thought just possibly might be doing something to provoke his treatment from these 2 boys. I learned by being around them and the rest of the class that it was not my child it was the other kids. I witnessed them tormenting him hitting him, stomping on him, telling him they would never ever be his friend etc etc. I was so angered by this that I spoke up to one of those kids and let him know exactly how I felt and that he was totally in the wrong for speaking to my child the way he was and that he was rude and I never ever wanted to hear him or hear of him talking to my boy like that again. After that he seemed to be a little nicer. However girls tormented my son as well making up stories and telling on him I know they were lying as I was standingright there watching.  I believe the entire class was filled with kids who have problems, add, adhd, personality disorders among others. I believe this because my son was put into this class on the basis that he might have possibly had adhd himself. However being in school changed him for the better and the school staff all agreed that his adhd dx was wrong that there was nothing wrong with him except he is small and timid. The staff says he tries very hard every day to be nice to all those other kids he even cleans up their messes  all in the hopes of making a friend. Alas to no avail. He has no problems making friends with kids in other classes so I believe it was just he fact that this class was filled with kids who had their own problems. I hope that it gets better for him this coming school year.  I am hoping to learn from you all ways to help my son protect himself, apply himself, and most of all to make the friends he so desperately wants and needs.