Nursery World - Ask the expert (36)

Child psychologist Jennie Lindon answers your letters about child behaviour Q. On a recent outing to the park, we were shocked to hear two children being very unkind to an unknown child standing next to them as they fed the ducks. This little girl had a large birthmark on her face and our children said, 'Go away, you've got the lurgy!' The distressed child ran to her mother. One of us went to apologise to them. Then we talked with the two children and explained that they had really hurt the girl's feelings. Their reply made us think that these four-year-olds were genuinely concerned that the birthmark was contagious. Is this usual?

Q. On a recent outing to the park, we were shocked to hear two children being very unkind to an unknown child standing next to them as they fed the ducks. This little girl had a large birthmark on her face and our children said, 'Go away, you've got the lurgy!' The distressed child ran to her mother. One of us went to apologise to them. Then we talked with the two children and explained that they had really hurt the girl's feelings. Their reply made us think that these four-year-olds were genuinely concerned that the birthmark was contagious. Is this usual?

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