My son 10 enjoys playing with younger children,6 to 7 yrs. old at recess at school. This is fine with me as long as he behaves himself, he is not to boss or throw his weight around with them. He is to treat them with the same respect he shows his two younger sisters at home,5 and 7, when he plays with them. However, there is a teacher's aide at school who constantly pulls him away from his freinds while playing, she says"you need to go and find something else to do, or she will say you need to find freinds your own age to play with."So he feels he has done something wrong and goes and sits by the side of the building by himself, this happened on the Thurs. before March break. I had let this go on long enough and called the school Friday morning, after my son had left for school. My son never knew I had called . I set up a meeting with my son's full time teacher and went to talk to her right away. I asked her if she had ever gotten any complaints about my son playing with younger children on the playground, she said no, so I proceeded to tell her the full story, she said she would have a chat with the aide and not to worry, so I left it at that. When my son got home from school that day he said he had gotten in trouble because I had called the school, I asked him to explain, he said the aide called him over at recess and told him that I had called the school about the problem he was having with her, she told him that she didn't want him playing with younger children because she feels it will hold him back when he gets into highschool. she said that all the other schools she has been to had a rule that big kids couldn't play with little kids. I fell this is not the case, and that she has no right to determine what is good for my child being, she doesn't know him well enough. My son plays with children his own age all the time at home, he has cousins who live down the road his own age an a next door nieghbor who goes to a different school, he plays with him all the time, I feel I have raised a fine young boy who loves and respects younger children, I feel he will , someday make a terrific Father, However if this aide constantly gives him trouble for spending time with young children ,I feel he will soon put younger children in the catagory with getting into trouble and soon start straying away , or even eventually harming them to stay away not having anything to do with them. Please do the best you can to help me I would love to Print your answer and take it to school to show the teachers and the aide involved. I want to know if it is okay to play with younger children occasionally as long it is done respectfully, and also If constantly getting in trouble for it will eventually cause damage. Thank- you very much ..... Sputterbox