Stand by me

Here's how you can step up and support your child when he is dealing with an adult bully...

What should one do if you see a grown-up irritating, teasing or annoying your little baby? What some elders perceive as fun can be excruciatingly torturous for a child. What to do if the grown-up is a close friend or family member? Should we bite our tongue and maintain silence in fear of hurting their sentiments and tell ourselves not to overreact? Or should we step in and support our child? In Pooja's case, the octogenarian had genuine affection and he didn't mean any harm. In Rachna's case, it appears that the sister-in-law thought of little children as toys and that she could do anything to them, that included mean things. In Tina's case, it's an old family custom that no one has objected to. But in all three cases the child is bothered or his best interest and safety is compromised. Irrespective of the intention of the adult's act, I feel if anything hurts a child, physically or emotionally, it must be stopped.

Case 1

Rachna, a mother of two, recalls, "My sister-in-law used to play rough with my children, who were just one and two years old then. She would whack them hard on their bums and immediately pick them up and throw them up in the air and catch them. They would cry. Soon they began to be afraid of her visits and refused to go to visit her. I couldn't say anything at all to my sister-in-law and she knew that well. I didn't have the courage to face the backlash from my in-laws had I uttered even as much as a word to her. Today I feel terrible about not being able to stand up for my innocent children."

Case 2