When My Kids Get Their Feelings Hurt

I am a bit down today because of a few things that happened and are hurting my "mommy heart." Natalie had preschool today and she told me that her 2 best friends (who are boys) did not want her to sit by them today at snack. Then I asked if that's why she sat by the girls today for lunch and she said no, that she sat by herself (she was the only kid on her side of the table while the other girls were across from her). That none of her friends wanted to sit by her today. I'm not sure what to do about that--she's so outgoing and active that she is naturally drawn to the boys, but the boys are starting to not want to play with a girl. While the girls are quiet and just want to play make-believe, so Natalie doesn't really fit in with that either.

The other thing that happened is we had to pick Frank's friend up from school today so we went in a few minutes early so Frank could say hi to his old classmates. When we went into Frank's class, he went immediately to his old cubby and noticed that his name was gone and a new name was up there. It was pretty obvious that upset him. I didn't know how to handle it, so I just ignored it and tried to take his mind off it. I told him that this was the last time we were going to go inside on the days we pick his friend up. It is a real hindrance to his adjusting to being homeschooled. We had to go in 2 weeks ago to drop off his library book and I could see his brain shifting from being content to not being content. Being reminded of the school is not helping at all.

I hate it when my kids get hurt and I don't know how to fix it. The mommy bear in me wants to jump in and save the day and demand the kids sit with Natalie or demand the teacher not remove Frank's name from his old cubby like he never existed in her classroom. I want to shelter them and protect them from ever getting their feelings hurt, but I know that I can't. Even as an adult, my feelings get hurt often. It is just a fact of life that I need to prepare my kids for. Learning to deal with disappointment is a necessary life skill I need to teach my kids.

But it doesn't hurt to dole out a few extra hugs and kisses to help make it all better:)