Harriette Cole: Should I ask the teacher about the incident my child described?

DEAR HARRIETTE This day my son came home from kindergarten and casually informed me that one of his classmates had hit him during the school day Related Articles Harriette Cole I keep replaying this distressing moment from my wedding Harriette Cole My friend laughed off the blunder but it stung to realize how people see me Harriette Cole Are you kidding me The wife who wants to date doesn t deserve sympathy Harriette Cole My cousin thought his wife s lies about me Harriette Cole My friend is getting odd texts and she says I need to intervene Naturally I was concerned and inquired him more about what happened He didn t seem too upset but he did say it hurt and that he didn t know why the other kid did it What really confused me is that his trainer didn t mention anything to me at pickup not a word about any occurrence or behavioral issue As a parent I don t want to overreact but I also don t want to ignore something that could be serious I m feeling a mix of emotions confusion frustration and a little worry I want to make sure my child feels safe at school but I also know that kids at that age are still learning how to handle emotions and social interactions I don t want to create drama with the instructor or the other child s parents but I do feel like I deserve to know when something like this happens How should I approach this Should I reach out to the trainer directly and ask for more information or should I wait and see if it happens again How do I talk to my son about standing up for himself without encouraging him to be aggressive in return School Daze DEAR SCHOOL DAZE Talk to your child s instructor first Calmly share what you learned and ask the professor what happened Explain that you want to know when altercations occur even if nothing serious resulted as you are teaching your child how to behave in all situations including tense ones Ask about school protocols regarding violence of any kind Once you know what happened talk to your son about how to deal with conflict without violence and with respect It s never too early to reinforce how to interact with control and grace DEAR HARRIETTE I ran into a woman I went to school with multiple years ago When we saw each other she reached out to hug me promptly and express her pleasure at reconnecting I had no idea who she was It turns out that more than years ago we were at the same school and participated in a performance together She remembers it vividly I do not I vaguely remember her face but that s about it Related Articles Dear Abby While I was recuperating my husband moved out of our house Asking Eric Should I warn her she s at danger of being banned from the supermarket Dear Abby After the split my son-in-law sent me this email Asking Eric My co-workers are blackmailing the boss and it s a mess for all of us Harriette Cole I keep replaying this distressing moment from my wedding How do you handle a situation like this This woman was so excited to see me and clearly a bit disappointed that I had no recall of her Memory Loss DEAR MEMORY LOSS It s OK that you don t remember those details from long ago Just listen You can even ask her to refresh your memory Acknowledge her happiness in reconnecting with you If you feel that you would like to know this woman now exchange numbers Otherwise just be kind If you want you can apologize for not having the recall she does as you show appreciation for her excitement Harriette Cole is a lifestylist and founder of DREAMLEAPERS an initiative to help people access and activate their dreams You can send questions to askharriette harriettecole com or c o Andrews McMeel Syndication Walnut St Kansas City MO