This statement says so much. I have 2 boys who are ages 3 and 9. We have had some issues come up lately about the kids picking on on my 9 year old because he has issues in class sometimes. Its tricky when you are trying to explain to them how to handle it. He is a tender hearted little boy who wants to be liked by everyone, so when someone says something out of the way to him, it hurts deeply. He cries, it is a big mess. So, today he starts getting that attitude in his voice when I asked him to change his clothes so we could go to supper. Its not really out of character for him to whine, but I could tell he was really upset by something. So, I pulled him aside to find out what was going on. He tells him that he messed up in class while reading something, and the children around him started whispering and laughing at him. He said he was embarrassed by it. He said when they had free time, the kids were saying ugly things to him. He proceeded to break down and start crying. I hugged him as tight as I could, and I started to explain to him. I told him that people are always going to have an opinion…they will say things….they will even be mean about it sometimes. The best way to handle someone like that is to grow thick skin and brush it off, I try my best to prepare them for real life, and in real life, you have to brush petty, meaningless things off to have peace of mind. I told him that he should never compare himself to anyone else because we are all built for a special task that God gives us. I told him that he was born a leader, not a follower. He should show those kids that it doesnt bother him when they want to be mean and say hurtful things. I told him that what they say and do is a reflection of who they are and how they are raised. You be the better person and kindly tell them that “Opinions are like assholes….everyone has one.” (Not my greatest mom moment, but I meant it.) Of course he laughed at that, and cleaned the language up some but I made him repeat it. I also made him repeat that he is not beneath anyone, and he is always good enough. That seemed to brighten up his smile. Everything was fine with him, but there are so many more extreme cases in which it affects kids so much more.
My 9 year old niece is the main reason I am making this post. She has it pretty rough. Her mental state isnt that great after being put on medication and bieng taken off of it and so on. She is probably bipolar and depressed. Her home life is difficult on top of her school life being just as rough. She lives with her mother, father, 2 siblings, aunt, uncle, and 3 cousins. They all live under one roof. Her mother is a loud mouth fire cracker. What I mean is she has no filter on her mouth and a ton of mental issues to boot. Her dad works all the time to support everyone along with her uncle. Her aunt is what I call a “Forever Student.” She wont work a real job and neither will her mother. Certain kids in the home get special treatment where others get treated like they are crap, and she is one of them. Her attitude is horrible. Her self esteem is so bad, I dont think it can be completely repaired. The children at school are beyond assholes to her. She has been stabbed by a student, been told to ‘kill herself’ on many occasions by the student and multiple others, and they call her fat and ugly. Her father and mother are always saying how they have went off on the school and went to the board of education, but the bullying at school still persists. Now, they are saying how heart broken they are for her and how they don’t know what else to do! This is what I meant by common sense wasnt bestowed upon everyone. If my child is being harrassed to the point where she is having to be drug to school kicking and screaming because she is afraid of the kids in her class………..SOMEONE BETTER HOLD MY ASS BACK! There ARE things you can do. There ARE people you can talk too! There ARE options. My biggest fear is one day I will get a phone call saying that she has killed herself for real. Her parents can prevent this!!!! Any time I say anything about the bullying or say let me handle it, they are like its not your place or they dont respond to any of what I am telling them because they think they have it handled. I have seriously considered calling DHS and the school myself. I would never want my nieces and nephews to be taken away from their parents because the system is worse than school and the home put togther. At least, I can check on her, but something has to give because now she is bringing home bad grades. I dont know what to do honestly. I am stuck. BULLYING IS NOT OKAY! Do people not understand that they are playing with a persons life!?!?!?!?!? If you have any suggestions, please tell me what to do. I would do anything for her to have some peace. What is going to eventually happen is I am going to lose my cool one day and lay into her mother for doing such a piss poor job at handling this situation. It really does break my heart, but I am ready to do something about it. This is ridiculous. No one deserves to be hurt and degraded like she is being done.
If you are raising children, please teach them to be kind to everyone!!! It starts with all of us…the parents! They depend on us to show them, to guide them, and to teach them better than what these children are being taught now. Teachers….stop letting the bullying go unnoticed. Put your foot down and say something to these bratty ass kids with no home training. The problem with a lot of them are is no one disciplines their kids anymore. They let them run around and do whatever the hell they want too. That leads to jail, drugs, and death. I cannot beg you enough to please teach your kids better than this. If you see someone being hurt or bullied….STEP UP!!!! TAKE UP FOR THE ONES WHO NEED IT!!! I am going to post the prevention hotlines at the bottom on this post. If you know of someone who is struggling, please say something. Be a hero in a child’s life!
Organized Chaos 