lead, follow, and get out of the way

Son-day finds me noticing how Oliver interacts with his peers. Sometimes he is very comfortable taking a leadership role. I'm very proud of how he is able to engage a shy child and bring him or her out of the sidelines. I am less impressed when he becomes a follower, as he inevitably chooses to follow whomever is being most disruptive in group settings. I found myself telling the parent of one of these "charismatic leaders", you know, the ones who will either be president or end up in jail, that Oliver would follow his son off a cliff. It is to the point where I am actively seeking to avoid those kids, even asking his music teacher if the kid I'm trying to avoid has registered for the same class time next session.

I can't decide if I'm just taking the easy way out, since when Oliver is tearing around the room chasing the disruptive kid it is a lot more work for me, or protecting him from a bad influence. He would probably learn more if I just got out of the way.