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My boy used to wear a ring

November 4, 2010 by jaypalter

I’ve wanted to share this story about how my seven year-old boy used to wear a ring on his right hand. I am sharing it today – right now – because I just read My Son is Gay.

My son also may or may not be gay and to that I will say the exact same thing as Cop’s Wife: he’s my son and I will love him.

My story is similar, but different. It is about a boy who wanted to wear a ring. He saw his big sister wearing a ring and his twin sister had one. His mom had a few and even his dad had one. He wanted a ring so badly that he kept asking about it for months.

First, we tried plastic toy rings – just to see if he could wear a ring and not lose it. Then, we found a cool Lego ring. But they weren’t quite the same as a real metal ring.

Then, his mother found the perfect ring. It was silver and plain and he loved it. He wore it every day. He slept with it on. Someone remarked once that we were the only family they knew in which each person wore a ring.

One day, the boy came home and his ring was not on his finger. He claimed to have lost it, then found it again. When he presented it to me, it was clear that the story was more complicated. The ring was completely destroyed. It looked like it had been bashed with a rock and it was now broken and scratched and looking more square than round.

After some prodding, the real story, tearfully, came pouring out.

Three older kids were teasing him, saying that wearing a ring meant he was married. Who knows what else was said. No doubt, it was cruel and unfair – as kids can be.

In an effort to stop the teasing, the boy removed the ring and smashed it. He was reluctant to have me raise the issue with the school because, in his words, he had “taken care” of the problem already.

How sad I felt. My boy had something taken away from him – something that he loved. And it clearly upset him – why else would he destroy something he had loved the day before? He probably won’t wear a ring for some time – at least until he is more capable about being confident in the face of tormentors.

I did contact the school and told them the real story. Appropriate action was taken. Our school is in the second year of implementing an excellent bullying prevention program called Olweus which offers a complete methodology for schools to employ in cooperation with students, teachers and parents.

Bullying affects all kids whether they are the bullied, the bullies or the bystanders. And my kid could have just as easily been on the giving end as the receiving end.

What is critically important is that all parties – those doing the bullying, those bullied and those witnessing it – need to know that bullying is not tolerated at all.

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3 Commments

  1. Tema Frank says:
    November 4, 2010 at 4:46 pm

    My son’s ring story is a bit different. He was 4 and going to occupational therapy at Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto. While killing time before his session, we’d often look at the items in the gift shop. One day, just before going into his session, he said “Look what I’ve got, Mummy!” and showed me a little ring with a frog on it that he’d lifted from the store. I was shocked. As soon as his session was over we went back to the shop and I told him he had to return it and apologize for having stolen it.

    The poor kid held it out to the kind old volunteer at the counter and looked down at the ground. He couldn’t speak. Finally she said, kindly, “Did you forget to pay for that?” and he nodded. I resisted the urge to buy it for him. But that was the day I told him he could start earning a small allowance for helping out a bit around the house. That way he’d have money to buy little things that we would not normally have bought for him.

    The sad PS to this story is that by the time he’d finally saved the money to buy the ring they no longer had the frog rings! Maybe that’s why he has such trouble now with the idea of saving money!

    Reply
  2. twinmom says:
    November 4, 2010 at 8:27 pm

    you forgot the part where the kids told him that “only GIRLS wear rings”. great post, but it still breaks my heart 🙁

    Reply
    1. Jay Palter says:
      November 4, 2010 at 8:39 pm

      Yes, you are right. The kids taunt in every way possible. “Then why do Super Bowl champions where big diamond rings when they win?” he should have asked them.

      Reply

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