The school playground…. Or is it a minefield? Home to scoffing a meat pie from the canteen, kicking the ball with your best mates or perfecting the best dance routine ever with your BFFs, the school yard is also a learning space for children to figure out how to be social, deal with different personalities and how to resolve conflicts.
Our kids go to the same primary school that I did. Nothing much has really changed (it's a public school!). Everything smells familiar - books, classrooms, toilets and the cracks in the school yard concrete that I constantly tripped over are all still there hiding my DNA deep within.
It brings back a lot of memories of my schoolyard shenanigans. I remember kids were cruel. Boys would peg tennis balls at my legs and call me “Mongalloyd” which, looking back, is a really creative spin on my last name Lloyd. I’m sure the child who came up with that is probably a millionaire now.
The girls, my god, how they could be cruel. Trying to navigate around the different groups with their different ‘leaders’. The quick and hurtful changeovers of best friend statuses and being an outcast because I didn’t have the right pencil sharpener.
But I remember not once did my mother get involved. She would just say dismissively, “Well darling, I know it hurts, but there will always be someone who is difficult… Just be friendly with everyone then you will always have someone to play with.” Or, “Well, she might be upset about something at home so she’s taking it out on you; just don’t play with her right now.” And, “You need to tell those boys to stop throwing balls at you or you will tell the teacher.”