GoMom

Did you see that a kid was wrapped in toilet paper and set on fire by his friends? It seems that they rolled the paper around him and wrapped him to a pole, then rolled the paper from his pole to other poles and from a distance, "accidentally" lit it on fire.

The report makes it seem like the kids were messing around, that they were friends playing a game that got out of hand. Another ooops in the world of boys. Oh well, our kids are out there lighting each other on fire, isn't that nutty? What scares me is the way one of the friends gives a small laugh and smiles as he describes what he saw, that his friend "went crazy" and that his skin was burned to almost charcoal black. That he could witness his friend engulfed in flames and not be too horrified to even talk about it, that frightens me tot he core.

Oh well, it was just an accident, boys will be boys.

At the coffeeshop the other day, one of my friends, who also has a teenager, confided in me. "Guess what fell out of someone's pocket while I was doing laundry?" Yes, it was the thing that should have been in his wallet. A condom. He's 16. So I'm trying to get her focus off the fact that her first child could be having sex, and I launched into a speech about how we should be glad that he's actually prepared, and using his brain as well as other parts of his body. Then, swear to god, my 5er comes running over from the corner playpit, and points to his own oddly shaped shorts with a loud "Look mommy, my wiener is wango!" That coffeeshop is cursed.

My two youngest boys have an eight year age gap. That doesn't seem to stop them from playing together pretty well. Lately, they've been playing Wrestlemania where the 5er attacks the 13er with all sorts of "moves" and the older kid loves it. At first, I was a little worried that someone would get hurt, that it would be taken too far. But the show is usually on the living room carpet, there's no flying off ropes or furniture, no major holds or smashes. Secretly, I've been a little glad to see the 5er's gumption, because he's been a little prone to crying at school when someone buds in front of him in line. But lately, through the laughter, I can sense a bit of frustration from the 5er, and a few times I've seen him really hit his brother with anger. So now I'm freaked that I've warped him for life and he's going to go into kindergarten next year and elbow-smash the first kid that steals his green crayon. Where's the line? How do I teach him to stand up for himself without unleashing the Hulk?