AIO for switching my daughter to a different school because another kid’s dad thinks my kid is trans?
I’ve recently moved my kid(4f) to a new school because she’s been telling me for weeks now that another kid keeps telling her she can’t do certain things, or like certain things, and had started ostracizing her from group activities because “she’s a boy not a girl.” When I asked her why this kid has been saying these things, apparently the child defends themselves going “my daddy says your a boy!”
The thing is, my daughter is definitely a girl. I think this man has seen her short hair and the fact I’ve sent her to school over the winter in the school uniform that is khaki pants and a collared shirt, and has come to his own conclusion that my daughter is a boy. Her hair just refused to grow until literally February of this year, keeping it short wasn’t any mortal’s decision. But the bullying got so bad my daughter would cry about it.
A family friend has since scoffed at me for switching schools instead of confronting the father, as the school clearly hadn’t done it on our behalf. Now I’m torn, and feel like the self-righteous wind has left my sails. Was removing my kid from the situation the better idea, or should I have demanded an apology and cleared it up, since clearly it’s also a misunderstanding? I just, at the base of the matter, felt like the damage was done. An apology would have meant nothing in the moment. This kid was saying things every day that made mine question who she was. Not just her gender but what she was allowed to like as a result.
She only had a couple more months before she graduated this class anyway. So maybe i did overreact. I don’t know anymore. Maybe I just finally feel safe from the situation now and am emotionally exhausted.
Update: I had to take my kid to her pediatrician for a stomach bug Friday afternoon, and I told her about the situation. She said I did the right thing. It’s actually very common for her and other pediatricians she knows to recommend changing schools if the bullying got this bad. Thank you to the majority for helping me not feel insane. I didn’t expect to deal with bullying this early, and especially not because of a grown ass adult. And we know this particular issue sometimes escalates to horrendous interactions.