Beat Bullying

These stories that are coming to light lately with children committing suicide due to bullying are heartbreaking.  Many parents feel helpless and hopeless for their child because it is not something we as parents can control, and many parents may not have many options.  Then the unthinkable happens and a parent feels lost without their child, leaving unwashed sheets on the bed for over a year because they can still smell their child when they lie down in it.  I thank God everyday that I removed my son from his bullying situation before he did something drastic. 

I chose to pull my son out of public school where he was being called names like faggot daily, people knocked his books out of his hands, tried to pick fights with him, etc.  His self-esteem and grades were going down drastically and the only time he would open up to me would be when he was angry with me.  I tried SEVERAL times to discuss this with the school and at times it was almost as if they blamed him for the bullying.  They said he didn't always talk nice.  I really didn't feel they took it as serious as it was.  I decided to make a change.  I placed him in a private school with 1 classroom with 14 kids ages 5-13, where he was the oldest and it has done WONDERS.  My son's grades went from Cs and Ds to As and Bs in 1 quarter.  He gets to show younger kids how to do things which boosts his self-esteem.  He feels important again.  He feels like he matters.

Please talk to your kids about bullying.  It is IMPORTANT!!!  Tell them it is not okay to pick on other people because they look different, act different, dress different, smell different, or do anything else different.  We are SUPPOSED to be different.  We should embrace each other's differences and treat everyone with love and respect, even when they don't deserve it.  If you treat everyone with love, you can walk away proud.  If you bully someone, do you really feel proud?  It has to stop somewhere.  Spread the message that it will not be tolerated.  Educate yourself, your children and their children.  Bullying is just not okay.