A Three Year Old Gave Me The Finger

Sometimes being a preschool teacher can be rewarding and exhausting at the same time. They require a lot of attention. I often find myself in an endless game of word ping-pong with 3 year olds. In a matter of one minute: “Please stop picking your nose and wash yours hands”, “Take your hands out of your pants”, “Please don’t have a fork fight at the table…Why? Because you can poke your eyes out!”, “Please put your shirt down! You do not want to catch a cold”, “No, you cannot pour your milk into your soup”, “Okay…So, how does your milky soup taste like…Let’s use our words to describe it!”

I did not learn how to become a teacher from college. Well, that sorta helped in getting my Teaching License, which ultimately landed me a job. I learned from experience. What has experience taught me from working with such a young age? How to keep my composure. All of it was tested on the day a 3 year old flipped the middle finger.

I was in the middle of a small group activity creating snowmen using the number 8. A little boy stood behind me and began to silently tap my shoulder continuously. I did not turn around, but I simply stated, “Please say: Ms. M I need your help”. However, the silent tapping continued and I abruptly turned around to see the middle finger right between my eyes. In that moment, I was shocked and all that was running through my mind was DO NOT LAUGH…DO NOT MAKE THIS A BIG DEAL. After what it seemed like forever to respond, I asked, “What is the matter?” The little boy said, “My boo boo hurts”. There was a paper cut.

I immediately covered his tiny little hand and placed the middle finger back into the fist. I let go and the finger did not pop up. Phew! As I walked across the room to get the first aid kit, I told him to follow. Biggest mistake. He raised that finger and walked across the room. I wanted to scream as the other children began to approach him and walk alongside him. At that moment, I found myself on the receptive side of the word ping-pong. “What happened?”, “Oh no, he got a boo boo”, “Is there blood?”, “Can I have a band-aid?”, “Look at my finger” (take a guess as to which finger). ALL I WAS TRYING TO DO WAS TO PUT A BAND-AID ON THAT FINGER and NOT LAUGH.

This was really happening. Five children showing me their fingers by the classroom door. Composure was key in such a situation. I did not visually react. However, my mind was a roller coaster. What if a parent walked by and saw that scene?!? OR even worse: my boss. I itched to laugh because it was a funny situation. However, laughter would have made it worse because they would have continued to do it only to make me “happy”. My composure was tested and I PASSED.

Their questions were answered. The finger was bandaged. The remaining five fingers were distracted with some play dough.

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