Amelia sat at the table and worked on her 10 subtraction problems. Math wasn't really her favorite. She preferred when then did fun games in math or when they read. She also liked learning about history, but she just could not get into doing math problems. She was taking her time, and she knew that she would likely get a nudge from her mother if she didn't pick up the pace. It wasn't that she didn't know how to do the problems, she just didn't like them, which typically frustrated her mother more.

"How's it coming Amy G?"

"Ok. I'm almost done."

"Good. What do you want for dinner?"

"Pancakes."

"Pancakes?"

"Yes. Pancakes."

"Ok, I guess I'll make pancakes." Alex let a beat pass. "When you're finished you can come help and we can talk about your other homework."

"Ok."

Amy looked down at the page. She was on the last row. Only two more problems and then she could be done with math. And then she could move on to talking about bullying. She knew that her assignment was to talk with her parents about bullying. But she didn't really know what to say. She already told her parents about the girls that were saying mean things, what else was there to talk about? She knew that her dad had told her teacher, which did nothing to alleviate her problem. In fact, she would argue that it made it worse. Amy didn't think that telling her mother anything else would do anything to make it better. Sticks and stones right? Maybe if she just ignored them from now on she could move on.

"You need any help Amy?"

"No," she sighed, and she knew that if she didn't finish up soon, her mother would start to wondered why, which means she would ask questions about her day, and even if she really wanted to, if her mom asked the right questions, she would cave and tell her mother about what happen that day.

So she finished up her last problem and walked into the kitchen to help with the pancakes.

"Can I crack the eggs?"

"Sure," Alex said as she smiled at her mini-me. "Wash your hands first."

Amy pushed her stool over by the skin and stepped up to the kitchen sink and reached for the soap to wash her hand.

"Your other assignment is to talk about bullying."

"Yeah."

"Did your class talk about bullying today?"

"I guess."

Amy moved her stool over and placed it in front of the bowl that her mother had started cooking in. She stepped up and got an egg out of the carton to crack it on the counter and dump it into the bowl. She then put the two shell parts in to the dump bowl at the back of the counter.

"You guess?"

"Well, we talked about what bullying was."

"And what did you learn?" Alex asked as she got the griddle down from on top of the fridge.

"Bullying is when you say mean things to someone because of something they can't control."

"That true. Is there anything else that is bullying?"

"If you push someone? Or hit them?"

"That can also be bullying." Alex said as she came back over to help her daughter add the milk to the bowl. After she poured it into the measuring cup she let her daughter drop it into the mixing the bowl. The milk splashed up the sides and a little spilled onto the counter top.

"Oops." Amelia said as she giggled.

"Oops?" Alex smiled back at her daughter as she replace the spilled milk with a dash from the gallon before putting it back into the fridge.

As Alex started putting ingredients away she allowed her daughter to begin whisking the batter.

"Do you think there is any bullying happening in her class room?"

Amy shrugged.

"You don't know?"

"No," she mumbled without much conviction.

"Amy G, I think you do know and it is something we should have a conversation about."

Amy kept whisking in the bowl, and she wasn't responding to Alex. Eventually, her mother cam and stood behind her looking over her shoulder at her culinary work. When the batter started to get too hard to stir, Alex took the whisk out of her daughter's hand.

Amelia took that as her clue to respond, "Sometimes some kids say mean things to Kevin."

"Why do they do that?"

"Well Kevin is a little weird. He likes to play by himself, and he hardly ever talks to anyone. So people were calling him a weirdo and a baby, because only babies don't know how to play with other kids, and some people called him a brat, but I don't know why. Then Kevin told the teacher that kids were calling him names, and now they are still mean to him and sometimes they kick dirt at him on the playground. Or if he is going over to the swings they will run over and take all of the swings."

Alex picked up the bowl and moved over to the island with the griddle heated and oiled ready for the mixed battered to be poured on. She scooped some into a ½ cup and laid it on to the hot surface.

"Amelia, what do you do when you see this?"

The little girl looked at her mother and suddenly she felt about 2 inches tall.

"Nothing."

Alex sighed. "Ok, I'm glad that you are teasing Kevin, but Amy G, when you see people being mean and you do nothing about it, then you are allowing them to be mean. When you see this happening you should tell your teacher, or another adult around."

"But mommy, they are already not nice to me, I don't want them to be more mean."

"Ok, sweetie, I think that your teacher is trying to address some of the things that are happening in your classroom. But it is really hard for her to do if no one is telling her what is going on. You know that I'm a lawyer, and I take people to trial that have done bad things right?"

"Yes."

"Well the only way I can do that is if someone comes and tells me that something bad has happen to them. So I think that your teacher will help you stop the kids that are being mean but you have to tell her about them."

"Ok." Amy whispered.

"So after we eat we are going to make a list of things you want the teacher to know about, and I am going to send it with you to school."

Amelia's eyes got wide at her mother's suggestion.

"And Amy you are going to tell Mrs. Pierce when you see things happening in your classroom that aren't very nice. I know that can be really scary sometimes, but baby it is really important."

"Why? Can't someone else do it?"

"They might baby, but you should never assume that they have or that they will. People can be really really mean, and I want more than anything to change that for you, but I can't. The only way we can make things better is to make sure we speak out against bad things happening. We have to be brave, because sometimes when someone is being bullied just trying to get through the day can be too hard. So it is up to other people to help them."

Alex waited while she flipped the last few pancakes over. Amy stood there in silence as she thought about what her mother was saying.

"Amy, you are a pretty incredible little girl. You are so smart. And you are a talented dancer, and you are already good a figure skating. Nobody can ever take any of those things away from you. Not with words and not with actions." Alex removed the last few pancakes and turned off the griddle. She walked over and picked up her almost too big to carry daughter. "And Amy, I know that you can be really brave too. You know that people can be mean, but I promise when you tell a teacher or an adult that you can stop them from being mean. Ok?"

Amy nodded and wrapped her arms around her mother's neck.

"Ok mommy, I will tell Mrs. Pierce when I see kids being mean."

"Ok," Alex kissed her daughters head before putting her on the ground.

"Now, let's eat!" Alex said as she handed her daughter plates to set the table.