Aggression

My 7 year old son was made fun of by a daycare teacher after he sought help from her because a girl was bothering him.  However the incident that transpired led this teacher to make a mockery of the situation and she told the girl that she would jokingly hang my son from his underpants.  My son did not take kindly to this and snaped.  according to the teacher, he pushed her head against the window of the school bus.  I have never know him to snap like this or do anything of this nature.  After talking to him he said that he was just very angry.  Should I just consider this a one time thing or should I investigate with a psychologist as to why he did this?  Please advise.  Thanks

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Dear Ms. Dadia,

If this situation was an anomaly - i.e., if your son has no pattern of acting with such aggression - I'd handle it by (a) underscoring that physical aggression is absolutely not permitted as a way of expressing anger, (b) giving your son some consequence (e.g., half hour time out), and (c) requiring that he apologize to the victim either face-to-face or in writing.

It sounds like the situation was mismanaged, and that deserves some attention (both by empathizing with your son and perhaps by addressing it with the teacher), but it shouldn't be construed as a rationale for your son having acted in an unreasonable fashion.

I don't see any need for the intervention of a clinician.