I really don't know if I can be.
When I dropped David off for his first day he saw another little boy he knew and I think he was extremely relieved to see a familiar face. I know I would have been were I him. He put his hand on the boy's shoulder as a gesture of familiarity. It wasn't over the top by any means, or a grab or squeeze. The other little boy pulled his arm away and looked irritated.
It made me almost spill over with anger.
David has always tried his best to play with this boy, who will sometimes do it and sometimes not...and David is just not sophisticated enough to know when he is being jerked around at this age. When I picked him up in the afternoon he said that the other little boy wouldn't play with him again. It troubles him. I hesitated to say anything...but I really couldn't stand it anymore. I told David that if the other little boy didn't want to play with him, then don't bother trying. Find another friend that would, that clearly he was just too good a friend to play with the other boy.
I guess I am feeling situations like this out and there is no guidebook that fits every situation (if anyone tries to sell you one tell them it's too coarse to make good toilet paper). I don't know if this is the best advice I could have given him, but I **think** it was.
I know this--I will protect my little boy like an angry grizzly bear.
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