I suggest that you separate your feelings and any external reaction you have to the dastardly deed from how you present it to your 2 1/2 year old.
No reason for her to be made to feel like a victim in this. You could laugh it off and say look, just when the flowers were ready to pick the neighborhood boys helped out.
And, truth be told, you will probably feel better too if you can remove the emotion from it and quietly, dispassionately, genuinely for your neighbor’s own interest either let them know what the kids did and however you’ve explained it to your daughter. If you felt like it, you can ask how we can go about making sure it doesn’t happen again.
Who knows, maybe if it presented in the right tone your neighbors would even apologize and make good by bringing her some new flowering plants. Or, if you didn’t feel like having that conversation, maybe you could remember that you’ve probably done something callous and unkind in the past as well too, and bless the boys for helping you to learn that you have a new level of power in protecting your daughter from the upsets of the world.
maybe you could remember that you’ve probably done something callous and unkind in the past as well too, and bless the boys for helping you to learn that you have a new level of power in protecting your daughter from the upsets of the world.
That was just plain stupid.