How Baby

It didn’t take very long at all: Momo came home the other day saying that a boy in another class was hitting her and kicking her at recess to get her attention, and I swear I felt the collected power of millions of women, ones who remember being told ‘he’s just doing it for your attention’ and ‘you should just ignore him’, course through me in that moment. There was no way I was brushing off the first time she confided in me her troubles at school.

I tried to get as much information as I could, without leading her or acting too interested. She didn’t know his name the first time she told me, but then the next day when it happened again, apparently she stayed close and waited for other kids to call him by name so she could pass it on to me. My little Veronica Mars.

I sent a note along with her to her teacher and got an email back (the future!!) and apparently the matter had been “resolved” by the time she told me – they made him apologize to her, at least. But I hope that Momo took away the important part, which is that her mom will chuck a boy into the ocean if he wrongs her, very few questions asked.