Pre-schooler teaches Mr. Mean a lesson

"Treat others with kindness. And when you fail at that then have the decency to own up to it. Make amends. Try again." 


Sarah Cottrell, a mother of a pre-schooler said these words after her son had amazingly stood up to a bully in the park. Cottrell took her 4-year-old  boy to the park to discard the bursting energy of her small toddler. Her son had made acquaintances with other little kids playing around in the park expect one for one little boy who was playing by himself to the side of the playground. The little boys father was just a few feet behind the kid, not encouraging him to go and okay with the rest of the little kids.

Cottrell's young boy never turned down the opportunity to make new friends, so he decided to approach the young boy but only to be blocked by the father. The young boy retreated back to the playground with the rest of the kids. The father had been using inappropriate language such as using profanity. When Cottrell's young boy tried to include the small boy into playing with the others the father strictly told him to "get out of the way." Cottrell's boy assuming he was in the way he excused himself and tried to approach the boy again from a different angle. Mr. Mean, as to how Cottrell named the man, was upset and told him to leave his young boy alone in a tone of which a young child should not be spoken by.

The young boy then stood up to Mr. Mean and with a few sentences awestruck everyone watching the scene unfold. He simply told Mr. Mean, "Hey! You shouldn't be mean! You should say excuse me! I don't like how you are talking or looking at me! You should say you're sorry when you hurt people's feelings, mister!"  Mr. Mean was stunned and did nothing but mutter and return his attention to his phone.


This 4-year-old boy amazed me on how young him being he knew that the manners of a grown man were not correct. You may think that a normal 4-year old you would coward down and run to the arms of their mother or father, but not this child, he did the appropriate thing and stood up to this bully seeing the inappropriate behavior of Mr. Mean.

Most people would find an excuse when it comes to bullying, but this kid had no excuse he saw and heard what was wrong and called it out. Most kids would leave in silence without saying a word. I'm fond of this little boy because he did what young adults and adults  wouldn't have done.