Health Report
I arrived to pick up Ellie from school and I noticed a “Health Report” form attached to her bag. I immediately became a bit anxious, as I sent her to school with a very minor runny nose (no fever) and I thought I was being called out for sending a “sick” child to school. Upon reading the form, I learned that Ellie had been bitten by her classmate. I was, of course, alarmed, and I felt bad for her since we had had a bad morning (a few tantrums) to start the day. The teacher talked to me for a few minutes and said she turned toward Ellie just as the girl had removed her teeth from Ellie’s arm. She immediately went to Ellie, expecting her to cry, and she said Ellie never cried. Instead, she stared at her arm and stared back at the girl, and then back at her arm. Mrs. Paine reported that Ellie’s body language seemed to say, “What were you thinking biting me?”
Ellie seems fine. I asked her about her boo boo and she said “----(child’s name) bite.” I don’t know if this is who really bit her, but this particular child has bitten other children, and I have no reason to think Ellie would create that explanation on her own. Mostly, I think I am just relieved to be the parent of the victim instead of the biter as I think it makes my job a bit easier than having to figure out how to discipline and deal with biting.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
