Laura (8) gets a wiggle cushion to suppress stimuli
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A teacher tells Kek Mama what she is experiencing. This time: teacher Amelda (36) teaches group 5.
Monday morning, math class. I look up from the interactive whiteboard when I hear eight-year-old Maria giggle in the back of the class. She looks at her neighbor Laura, a cute child with brown curls. Laura shifts in her chair and makes funny faces. It looks like she’s sighing a little. Is she moving against that chair leg?
Shuffling movements
Suddenly I understand where that sighing comes from. “Laura, will you sit up?” I say. The other students don’t look up or around, because I say this often. Laura has ADHD. Until recently, she bounced all over the classroom. I’ve had her stay in place for a week now.
I watch Laura closely for the rest of the day. With suspicion I see that she is crooked again in the afternoon. As soon as she shuffles, I say, “Laura, what did I say?”
It is a delicate subject: masturbation in children. While it is normal. Almost all toddlers fiddle with their genitals. Parents should say that it is better to do it in their bedroom, not in front of others. Otherwise, the kindergarten teacher will intervene. It is rare that children in group two are still openly involved with it. Let alone in group five.
I imagine Laura has found a new outlet now that she’s no longer allowed to run around the classroom. Anyway, I’d like to squeeze it in. I’m afraid her neighbors will make fun of it. Kids can be tough.
After school I shoot Laura’s mother at the gate. “She never does that at home,” says Jolijn, shocked. With some persuasion I get Jolijn to raise the matter with Laura. The next day, Jolijn tells that Laura has indeed confessed that she is sliding against the chair leg. Because it gives her a nice feeling that calms her down. She has promised Jolijn that she will not do it in class from now on.
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weighting pad
Two days later she is sitting crooked in her chair again. That night, I google “childhood masturbation.” Up to the age of six or seven, it happens that students do this in class. To relax. Unlike boys, girls sometimes reach a peak. If it becomes compulsive, as with Laura, a weighted pillow is placed on the child’s lap to suppress the stimuli. That’s called a wobbly pillow. In consultation with Jolijn I order such a pillow through the school physiotherapist. It’s a funny thing. Elongated, with colorful beads.
Laura loves the pillow. The next day she proudly shows up in class with it. Neighbor Maria looks jealous. “Miss, can I also have a pillow like that?” she asks. I say: “No, that’s for Laura, so she can sit better in her place.” The following days the pillow appears to work fine. Laura’s pact with the chair leg has ended. However, she is starting to get very busy again. Just like her neighbor Mariette. Because she thinks she’ll get a kiss like that too.
This article previously appeared in Kek Mama Magazine.
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