Rough Housing

I know that most kids like to "rough house", or play aggressively, as it were. But how much rough housing is too much?

On Tuesday, Jack and I were at my mom's house. We were there because my younger cousin was going to be stopping by with her two kids, Adrianne, (age 4) and Connor, (age 3). Connor is only a few months older than Jack, but noticeably heavier in weight. Adrianne and Connor were full of energy after spending the last eight hours in the car, and as soon as they entered my mom's house, they were bouncing off the walls. That's fine, kids will be kids. In fact, Jack was thoroughly entertained by the other kids, and was laughing at their antics.

After about 30 minutes or so, the three kids had made their way into the den while the three of us adults conversed in the living room. While I heard Jack giggling from the other room, I thought I'd check on the kids. Right as I entered the den, I witnessed Connor pushing Jack (with two hands) into a chair. Jack bounced off the chair and onto the floor. Jack wasn't injured, in fact, he was laughing at the whole thing like it was a joke. Connor was having fun too, but in a much more aggressive manner. It turns out, Connor wanted to "wrestle". Unfortunately, Jack had no idea that he was about to be involved in a match.

So here is my concern. Jack is a very passive kid. He doesn't understand aggression, and I'm not sure how to teach this to him. While I don't want to train him to be a thug. I also don't want Jack to be the "punching bag" when he starts going to school in a couple of years.

I guess most parents go through the same dilemma I am going through. And time will play out Jack's place in an aggressive world. In the long run, I'm 100% confident that Jack will go further in life by using his mind, rather than his fists. But in the meantime, I think I'll teach him the benefits of putting up a strong defense.