"Arriving early to pick up my daughter Nina at the elementary school, I pulled my car into a parking spot across the street and scanned the playground for her. Most of the boys charged across the playground in a hilarious Mad Max version of soccer. A handful of girls played four-square with a red playground ball. And the rest either dangled from the jungle gym or crouched underneath it in small clumps."
"That day, my overwhelming desire was to take her back into my body, to hold her there where no one could reach her without first going through me. I wish I could say I swooped in and saved Nina from her tormentors, but I would have to accept failure - and acknowledge my own powerlessness - in order to do that."
A mother arrives early to pick up her daughter Nina and watches playground dynamics. Boys play a chaotic version of soccer while a few girls play four-square and others cluster on equipment. Nina sits hunched on a bench and is taunted; a ball is thrown at her and a playground monitor intervenes while other girls smirk. Later a teacher forces Nina to apologize publicly for being disruptive and not respecting classmates. The mother feels an overwhelming desire to protect Nina but also recognizes her own powerlessness. The bullying began in second grade and left Nina withdrawn.
Read at BuzzFeed
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