My thoughts.. 💬

A couple things I needed to pop in and get off my mind. I’ve read and heard so much about “ fist” and “ thick skin” being the answers to bullying. For one.. it shocks me that people would rather kids brawling than learning and being taught to “ just be kind”! And two… those fist may make your child feel better in the moment but I promise you it won’t fix the embarrassment and long lasting emotional distress that the constant name calling and belittling has caused. The sad truth is bullying affects young minds just the same, if not worse, as verbal abuse from a spouse for an adult, but yet it’s treated and looked at so different. It’s expected of children to just shrug it off as “ kids will be kids” but the parents who have children come home from school crying, miserable and develop depression, self confidence issues and more, we are the ones who have to stand alone in most cases to beg someone to make it stop. Why is it so hard to spot a bully, take that child aside and 1. Discuss what is causing the bullying behavior. 2. Explain what the bullying does to the target. 3. Discuss school policy against bullying and harassment. 4. Lastly, discuss the consequences of bullying. Instead so many instances get overlooked for reasons that are not ethical. Apparently too many bully reports in a school looks bad in reports… 🤷‍♀️

A students safety, which includes mental health, is the first and most important responsibility of the school while our children are in their care. Please make sure the school your child attends has a stern bullying and harassment policy.. have you checked your school? Since Kenny’s passing our school has made tremendous strides to improve their efforts to stop bullying in its tracks and that brings me some solace.

With the new school year quickly approaching it’s been weighing heavy on my mind. Please have the “ bullying “ talk frequently with your child. Make it a very open conversation.