Dear Prudence,
I need an unbiased opinion over whether I’m overreacting. My 8-year-old daughter Grace received a kitten for her birthday and loves her cat Pasta very much. She’s been talking about Pasta frequently at school, and this annoyed a girl named Holly, who has a history of saying mean things to Grace. During art period, Holly made a clay cat and encouraged the rest of their classmates to take pieces of “Pasta” to “eat.” Grace cried, and the teacher eventually alerted the vice principal. My husband and I have a meeting with Holly’s parents and the school this week, but I know several other parents in the class think this is an overreaction. They’ll allow it was not nice but claim no one knew how upset Grace would become. Are my husband and I out of line for thinking this is bullying that needs to be addressed, at least at an administrative level?