Chucky Update

It seems like I almost abandoned Chucky the last time I wrote about him. I report with mixed feelings (once again) that it ain’t so! I have to remind myself that this was a then 4 year old boy I was writing about…things haven’t changed much; he is now only 5 years old. Some days I feel like I have been very harsh in how I portrayed him; even this moniker I have given him! Yet, I was just writing about incidents as they happened and as they affected my child and me. At that time, I felt helpless. Even now, I try to help this child and feel like a failure. For someone so young, he continues to be a force to reckon with!

Since I believe that it does take a village to raise a child, I have included Chucky in Hans’ life…whether it is walking together from school or having play dates. Chucky has been invited to our home to play with Hans and Hans has been over at Chucky’s as well. Of course, all visits have been supervised by adults…mostly me, me and Chucky’s nanny and once, it was me and Chucky’s mom! Chucky was perhaps the best behaved with his mom and other than that one time, he hasn’t made much progress. This bothers me. This child shows neither fear nor respect for authority or for the adults in his life. He actually believes he is very cool and the strangest reality is that all the kids in his class believe it too. In fact, my child, who barely reads or writes, took the time to type a note to Chucky. The note reads as follows:

I like Chucky he is cool

Obviously, Chucky is not his real name and Hans actually had his real name in the note and Hans could actually spell Chucky’s real name! Hans wants to print this note and present it to Chucky. I was perplexed. But then, I went on a field trip with their class and I was even more perplexed as most of the girls literally fawned over Chucky and insisted on holding his hand and walking. These are 4 and 5 year old children and yet, they were demonstrating their attraction to a child who was completely ignoring his teacher and doing his own thing! The field trip was about discovering little critters outdoors and I discovered a lot more…

Is it really true as the book says that everything we learn we learn in Kindergarten? If so, I am a little concerned for my child. I have told him that he could be friends with Chucky, however he shouldn’t copy everything Chucky does. Hans always assures me that he will not copy Chucky and then I see shades of “chuckiness” in him sometimes…it is scary and still, I can’t bring myself to share my concerns with Chucky’s parents and I do not want to be the “Tattle Tale Mom”! What can I do then? Continue to communicate with my child about right and wrong, and continue to remind him that he can be friends with someone without copying them!