Dear Parents of the Blue Bombers

Judy McCrary Koeppen

www.septar.org

www.sagetherapy.com

www.sagetherapy.blogspot.com

Dear Parents of the Blue Bombers,

Last week my husband attended the team parent meeting. He was confronted in front of the group by a couple of parents about our son. My husband was not at the game he was asked about. I was there and was organizing the team snack when my son evidently hit or pushed a child on the other team after being taunted. I was never aware nor told that this had occurred. Our message to him was, and continues to be, that this type of behavior is never acceptable.

At the beginning of the season I told the coach (as I do every coach, camp counselor etc.) that our son has learning and attention deficits and sometimes has difficulty controlling his emotions when in competitive situations. I asked the coach to let us know if he needed assistance, had questions etc. My husband has since had the same discussion with him. If a parent had asked me about our boy, or sat and chatted with me, I would have likely had a similar conversation.

We are not hiding anything, and yet we don’t need to put him on public display for every parent on every team to examine and judge. At the end of every season or school year I always write notes thanking the coaches/teachers who have embraced and supported my beautiful boy. It does take a village to raise a child and I am so grateful to those who commit to ALL children in our community.

He is a joy in our lives. That having been said, parenting a child like our guy can be a rocky and emotional road. I imagine he travels a similar road. My message to you as parents sharing this community is that families like ours desire and hope for acceptance, support, and friendship. Those of you have offered this to my family and other families — I am so grateful. Those of you who gave a cold shoulder, commented that you are “tired of putting up with” my child and sought to shame us in a group forum are not “fixing” any one in my family. In the future I recommend calling upon your grace, integrity, and compassion when addressing other families.

-Judy