This is not about differences in culture.
I have lived in Switzerland for almost three years and the Swiss parents I know (I know many) would never have their kids call up another parent while they stood in the background over a matter like this.
The Swiss are not THAT DIFFERENT from the English, Americans, etc...that is just silly. There are mean, stupid and strange people in every country.
I could see this happening in America. And, if it happened to me in the States or here in Switzerland I would handle it the exact same way.
I wouldn't do anything until the parents called me or sent me a letter. Period.
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| I wonder if anyone could give me any advice on how to handle a situation which arose recently.
My son is in the first year of the Sek. During the morning break a boy in his class came over and punched him on the arm. My son gave chase to this boy and grabbed him by the hood of his jacket. Pretty normal playground activity for boys aged 13/14.
However that evening the other child rang my son and said that the hood of his jacket was damaged and that my son would have to pay for it. The boy's mother was in the background but did not come to the 'phone nor did she ask to speak to me. My son said that he would talk to his parents about the matter.
I told my son to apologise for the damage at school the next day and tell the boy that his mother or father could ring us to discuss. The following day the boy said that it was up to us to call his mother and so we sent a brief written note stating that we were aware that accidental damage had been caused to an item of the boy's clothing following an unprovoked attack on our son and that if the parents thought there was anything further to discuss they could ring us. We heard nothing.
Tonight, some 3 weeks later, the boy rang and spoke to me (again his mother was in the background but refused to come to the 'phone). I said that we preferred it if one of his parents discussed the matter with my husband (due to my language ability) but explained that my husband was not at home as he was with clients. I said the boy's mother or father could call us on Monday. We then got into a protracted wrangle about who should ring who, ending with me stating that I simply would not discuss the matter with a child. During the conversation the boy told me that the jacket was brand new and cost CHF 400. Having been at a school visit day today and seeing the boy in question, I rather rudely told him that he didn't look like he wore clothes costing this sort of amount. He said that the jacket was a "windstopper" and assured me that this was the cost.
Naturally, I don't want my son damaging other people's property but am really unsure of how to handle this. I find it very odd that the other boy's parents won't get involved and expect me (or more accurately my son) to hand over CHF 400. Obviously I can ask them to produce a receipt and we need to check whether we have accidental damage liability insurance for our kids - a question the other boy asked me.
We are new to the area and I don't want to create bad feeling with other parents and obviously don't want any backlash at school for my son. On the other hand another boy told me that this family are weirdos and that he once had to pay CHF 5 when he damaged a buckle on this kid's belt.
Any advice or opinion would be gratefully received. Thanks in advance. | |
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