Big sticks

Me: Well, by the way, Hmm, uh, about
this other thing where kids are

running around things one way at it,
the world, this kid, I know a school

that kind of, that always runs around
with stick, with sticks bigger than

their thumb and well, is that the rule?

No sticks bigger than

Dad: your thumb.

That's the rule of thumb.

Yes.

Me: Did you, do you know that?

Did you, and, and it just, and one day
I think it he's gonna poke somebody.

Dad: It

Me: might happen.

Yes.

And I tried to say no sticks bigger than your
thumb, but he just doesn't listening.

He just doesn't listen.

Dad: Mm.

Well, at the school, did they tell you

Me: no sticks

Dad: bigger than your thumb?

Okay.

But here's my other question.

When, when someone else is doing
something wrong, are you supposed

to tell them they're doing something

Me: wrong?

You should.

Okay.

It would be

Dad: the, I could do.

Okay.

So you're not okay.

So you're not banned from walking up to
someone and saying, Hey, you shouldn't

be carrying that stick around that that's

Me: allowed.

Of course not.

I

Dad: mean, of course.

Yeah.

Okay.

That's allowed and it's
in, would you say it's

Me: encouraged?

It's Hmm.

It's encouraged a bit.

Dad: Okay.

That would rather you try to
work things out between you

before you go to a teacher.

Me: Yeah, but he didn't

really listen.

Dad: He didn't listen.

No, I was wondering though,
about the boy with the stick,

was he hitting anyone sticks?

Sticks.

He had two and they were
both bigger than a thumb.

Yeah.

Oh boy.

He's in double trouble.

So so I think,

Me: yeah.

Well, I don't, no, I haven't seen anybody
get poked by them, but eventually I

definitely know one day he's gonna
accidentally poke somebody with them.

Dad: Okay.

Well that's this was my question.

Was he threatening anyone?

Me: Not threatening anybody?

I don't think he knew that what he
was doing was wrong, but, but still

I try to tell him, but he doesn't

Dad: listen.

So he might not have known the rule.

And then if you tell him about the
rule, I guess you are not a boss person.

So maybe he's gonna, be's gonna,
he's gonna say, well, that might be

the rule, but I don't know for sure.

And I'm like, I can't
take your word for it.

Me: I just wonder, well, part of the
reason why he doesn't listen because

he is a prep and oh, preps, don't
usually like listening to Bri's I

guess not, but usually, but there
were these girl preps that I knew

that always, that always also say to
that boy, no sticks bigger than your.

Dad: okay.

And

Me: there are some preps that
like having fun and some preps

that just stuck to rules.

Dad: Yeah, sure.

Some are rules.

Some are rules lawyers and some are yeah.

Rule breakers.

Okay.

That's interesting.

Well, so maybe some preps
listen and some don't to rules.

Yeah.

Okay.

Well, I had another question though,
about the boy with the sticks.

Was he marching up to
people and waving them at

Me: them?

No, he was just running
around, waving them.

Dad: So really just kind of playing
with them sort of by himself,

not sort of at other people

Me: or?

Well, he, there was, he did run
around with a bunch of other people.

Dad: Okay.

So what, what do you, why
do you think he had them.

Me: I have no idea.

No, I've never dunno the
backstory about it all.

Why do you think

Dad: people like sticks?

Me: Well, this just one more thing.

I would say before we wrap
up that really annoys me.

Mm-hmm this other person in my class
I've told him and he, and I said,

can you tell to him and tell him?

But then he just said, oh, come on.

It doesn't more, isn't
a good, isn't a big one.

And then they asked them grade fours
and then they just said, oh, it's fine.

He's not hurting anybody with them.

And he's probably, and he probably
won't happen accidentally anyway.

And that made me feel so, so annoyed.

Mm.

Dad: I really think this is
a very interesting story.

Okay.

So there's lots to talk about with this.

So this is the boy with the two sticks
that were bigger than his thumb.

Yeah.

Which is a rule.

Yeah.

Now, remember how I was asking before?

Was he threatening anyone?

No.

And he wasn't definitely
wasn't hitting anyone with

Me: them.

No, but it was just, I'm just scared
he might hit somebody by accident.

Dad: Well, of course, cuz he's sort
of, is he playing sort of ninjas

Me: or whatever?

He's yeah.

And he's running around with them.

Dad: Okay.

So he's just sort having a bit of fun.

Now he's a prep.

Do you think maybe he feels a little bit
like one of the little kids in a school

with lots of big kids and maybe, do you
think, do you think carrying a stick.

It's total speculation.

There's no way to know, but do you
think him carrying a stick that makes

him feel sort of brave and tough?

Yeah.

Yeah.

I think that's one reason I used
to carry sticks around, you know,

kids love to play with them.

It's it?

They're pretending to be a brave warrior.

Aren't they?

Yeah.

Mm.

Okay.

So maybe that's helping him
to be in school and feel good.

I wonder.

There is a rule that says he can't,
they have to be smaller than that.

So maybe if he had smaller
sticks, it would be alright.

Me: Well, I guess you're right.

That's the last thing I wanna say.

Bye will make another episode.

Thank you, everybody.

Anything, any last things
you'd like to say, dad?

Dad: Oh, sure.

Well, um, hang on.

Well, I just wanted to say about the rule.

Yeah.

It really annoyed you.

Yeah.

That the other people
thought it wasn't a big.

Me: Yeah, they were older than me.

They were two years older than me.

And you think

Dad: they should be more

Me: responsible?

Uh, yeah.

And the same age as me was
still was still very, yeah.

Dad: So you felt that the older kids
should have been more responsible,

but I had a question about how do you
think, why do you think the rule exists?

Me: Well, You never know that
kids that have big stiff, I've

seen kids at school that almost
carrying like bra small branches.

Yeah.

I've seen that.

And just, I think they made that rule
because, um, carrying six big, then

your thumb could be very dangerous.

Accident or on purpose.

Dad: Okay.

So the reason the rule exists is
to stop people from being hurt.

Yeah.

Okay.

So if someone's breaking
the rule, but they're not.

Yeah, go on.

Me: I actually know that it's, I've
told that it's been told to me in prep.

If I ask you

Dad: a question like that, I
don't mean to make it sound

like you don't know the answer.

It's just so that we'll talk about it.

Yeah.

It's to, to make sure it gets said, if
the rule is to stop people from being.

and if this kid was not
hurting anyone with his

Me: sticks, but he might hurt one,

Dad: he might hurt someone so far.

He's not doing the thing that
the rule is trying to stop.

The rule is not trying to stop sticks.

The rule is trying to stop
people being hurt with sticks.

Yeah.

So, so far he's not
hurting people with sticks.

So he's done that part.

The problem for you is that it might
turn into a situation where he is.

Me: Hurt somebody

Dad: mm-hmm . Okay.

Now, do you think when you watch someone
with a stick, are you able to tell or

make a prediction about how likely they
are to hit someone or how likely they are

Me: to accidentally?

Definitely the bigger, the stick is
the higher the chance of of course.

Okay.

Dad: So that, but the other reason
for the thickness rule of the stick

is also because a thicker stick
rolls, heavier and hurts more when

you whack someone with it, right?

Yeah.

Okay.

So his sticks were fairly thick,
but not full tree branches.

Me: Actually.

There was about if I could describe
them to you dad, they were about like,

about like this, of the same as well.

Okay.

They were pretty right.

And mm-hmm, quite, mediumly tall.

Sure.

Dad: So you thought big enough
and long enough to be a problem?

Yeah.

Okay.

But do you think the way he was
using them, do you think he was

able to control them enough to
not accidentally whack someone?

Just enough?

Just enough.

So it's a bit of a risk, but is it a
large risk or medium or a small risk?

Me: I'd say nearly large.

Nearly Alan risk.

Cause I was, you never know mm-hmm it,
it, you could poke somebody in the eye.

Okay.

Dad: But you do feel that he
was quite unlikely though.

Quite unlikely and fairly,
just able enough to control it.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Well, I guess there's no easy
answer to this situation.

I guess you can tell a teacher or what
you tried to do was solve the problem

by trying to appeal to the person that
what they were doing was dangerous.

He didn't agree with.

Me: well, I don't think he heard me
actually, but probably heard me a

bit, but didn't really say, ah, I
don't know what this, I don't know

what this kid's trying to say to me.

Dad: Mm I understand.

Yeah.

And the class, he didn't
really take it in.

He was just busy in his own world.

Yeah.

And your classmate didn't understand it.

And the older, the classmate understood,
but didn't think it was a problem.

The older kids didn't
think it was a problem.

Cuz they said he's not
really hurting anyone.

Hmm.

Okay.

Well I agree that it.

Important not to hurt people with sticks
and it's important often for rules to

be followed if they're there for a good
reason, I wonder, is it the kind of

thing you'd be able to just cope with the
thing that really annoyed you was that

other people didn't take it seriously.

Yeah.

So the fact that he had the
sticks was not so annoying to you.

Yeah.

Me: Okay.

But it was, I did know
how that was gonna end.

Dad: Mm, okay.

So if you just ignored.

Next time and didn't say
anything to anyone about it.

Me: It might happen this, that time.

Dad: Well, someone might get hurt.

Yeah,

Me: that's true.

Okay.

So I need to say that to him.

Oh,

Dad: and yeah.

So if you hadn't told the other
people that it was a problem and

tried to get them to help solve it.

Yeah.

You wouldn't have felt so annoy.

Me: Yeah, because I didn't, because I
wouldn't have known if they were gonna

be like, oh yeah, that's a problem.

Or didn't just care about it or knew,
but didn't really want to didn't

really wanna solve it or anything.

Mm.

Dad: So would, would trying
to ignore it next time.

Would that be, would that work

Me: maybe I'll just have trying to see.

Okay.

Dad: So is that everything we
want to talk about right now?

Me: Yes

Dad: Fantastic.

Should we stop there?

Me: Yes.

Dad: Great.

All right.

See you next time,

everyone.

Me: Yeah, well, be, be back for
our next episode now, what do

you want to talk about next time?