Oi, You, What's Wrong With My Child?

I have got the hump.

I shouldn't but I have. 

In my capacity of Mum to the Bratlings, I feel that it is my duty to defend my children no matter what. To nurture them and to encourage them to be confident and follow their dreams. 

I also feel that if a random fat kid at nursery is rude about them, they have no reason to, and I should stand up for my children.

Now, when Mini says "X child at playschool bited me", I immediately want to know why they bit her, what M the nursery lady did about it (quite frankly if a child hurts my child I'm all for corporal punishment making a comeback), and if she is OK. 

Mini is a happy little soul, and even if she feels ill she will still want to go to playschool regardless. I even said I'd let her bunk off on Tuesday and come girly shopping with me, but she got very cross with me, and told me she was going to playschool. In fact I missed her company so much that I got the train at 9.47am, and was back on a train home by 11.43am, in time to pick her up at 12.15. Even though Elder had given me the credit card and told me to spend what I wanted.

Every morning, she gets very excited on the walk to Playschool, we leave at ten to nine and wander down the hill. She starts by saying good morning to people, complete randoms whom she has never met before, and then progresses onto saying hello to the digger outside the hire shop, the park and the green man on the crossings.

By the time we get to the playschool doors, she is almost foaming with excitement and happiness.

We generally get there at the same time as J and his Mummy, so we all have a chat. At a few minutes before quarter past, the other children and their parents start to arrive. There are only 11-15 children per day at playschool, its very small and based in a mobile classroom outhouse thing near the river, down a private road. That's why I chose it, for its tiny cottage feel, rather than Mini being lost in a sea of busy children. It has helped her grow in confidence a great deal.

She says hello to all the kids and their parents, and obviously, some of the shyer kids don't say it back, but that doesn't faze Mini at all.

This has been the status quo for so long now, that I just let her get on with it. 

We've had some feedback on her progress and M has said what a delight Mini is, that she's polite and a natural leader. 

We thought she was doing OK.

Well, until this morning.

As I said, not all the kids say morning or hello back, but thats normal, never bothered me.

But this morning, one of the kids who has been there before Mini started in January, a quite ridiculously fat child for her age, was told by her Mum to say hi back.

She refused, and in a loud whisper, obviously designed so everyone heard her, the snotty little child said 

"No, I hate her. I don't like Chrissy at all."

Right. 

Her Mum didn't apologise, never even looked our way. But I was quite upset. 

I wanted to ask what was wrong with my child, what Mini had done to upset her? Mini was really happy when she came in, she likes everyone, but this horrid child has decided that such is her dislike of Mini that she will be deliberately rude and nasty in front of me, Mini, J and his Mum and another Mum and her daughter. We all looked quite embarrassed. Luckily Mini didn't hear.

I didn't know whether I should say anything to M or not, or take it up with this awful child's Mum? 

What is the protocol for this kind of thing?

Frankly, I wanted to give the horrid little creature who was so unnecessarily mean about my child a clip round the ear. But obviously that's not allowed in polite society.

Myself and J's Mum, who obviously twigged how annoyed I was, told me not to take any notice- that the child in question isn't exactly popular with the other kids (her son has been there for as long as the girl), and that she is just one of those children who will be the misery guts frowning in school pictures. She said she generally sits in a corner being nasty to the other children, and that M had tried to sort her out to no avail.

Now, my sensible side says that at times, Mini can be over powering. She can be really annoying with all her dancing, singing and bubbliness. She can be like an over eager puppy. But is that a reason to hate her?

She is also quite a pretty child, and I do make sure she is always dressed really well, even at playschool- never has my daughter gone out in tracksuit bottoms or an old top. Her hair is always tidy. People remark on Mini the stylish (in fact just yesterday H who helps M run Playschool said exactly that). But that's purely because I wouldn't and have never gone out in tracksuit bottoms myself, and would never drop her off without clean hair and make up on. 

Is this why the child, who is halfway to growing a 'tache, is so anti Mini?

So, what would you, or have you done in this situation?