My fifth child is also 6 years old and very sensitive. There is another girl in her class that does similar things. She says mean things and is too rough, pushing her around. My daughter has come home in tears.

We notified the teacher and had a discussion. Unsurprisingly she was aware of the issue. There has been an instance or two since that discussion, but we are not going back to the teacher on it. I don’t think trying to force the teacher or principal to deal with it the way you want is the best idea. It stinks to see your kid upset with hurt feelings, I get that.

However, this level of bullying doesn’t rise to that level of intervention. My oldest son also experienced bullying in the first grade. It was much more violent including getting choked and coming home bleeding more than once. We talked to the teacher, it didn’t help. We met with the principal, and I left the meeting unimpressed with her leadership skills. We ended up pulling him out of that school. His new school didn’t tolerate bullying and he didn’t have any more problems.

For our current situation we’ve talked to our child about who she wants as friends, and if this person is not a good friend then told her not to hang out with her. I think the advice to help your daughter develop coping skills is good. Your daughter will have to deal with others the rest of her life, and every interaction won’t go the way she wants.

By escalating it to the principal and demanding it is solved your way, you’d be sending a message to your daughter that every time she gets her feelings hurt her parents will step in. You’ll have a lot less drama in the future if you can help her learn to deal with it on her own. If her safety is in danger, that is a different story, but that is my advice on hurt feelings or a little pushing.