My blog about vaccinations will have to wait until next week, because this morning when I woke up & was listening to the morning news, I saw another horrific story about bullying. This morning’s story was about a teenage girl from B.C. who after changing schools 3 times, was still relentlessly bullied & chose to take her life this past Wednesday. At the beginning of this week, I sat & sobbed while I watched footage of a grown man following behind a young girl with cerebral palsy. He was imitating how she walked & a grandmother in the parking lot videoed this shameful act. Last week an American news anchor confronted a bully on national television who questioned her ability to be role model for the community because she was not “a suitable example”! A few months ago, I watched children tease & taunt a bus monitor. These acts sicken me & make me wonder what kind of a world are we living in & what kind of children we are raising.
I have only
been a parent for a few months, but I really do believe that too many parents
try to be their child’s friend, & not an authority figure. Are parents not
teaching their children about kindness, respect, & tolerance?!? Do children
just not listen? Or care? How & who do you place the blame on?!? Children most
certainly do not have to be friends with everyone, but they definitely should
be taught to respect & to be kind to others, especially those who are
different from them. And I do realize that children & teenagers are not
developmentally able to comprehend the consequences of their actions, but they
are able to tell the difference between right & wrong! Hell, even my 8-month
is starting to figure that out.
I challenge
parents out there to talk to their children about bullying. Find out what their
children think bullying is & why they think its happens. Have they ever
been bullied? Have they ever bullied someone? Do they understand what the consequences
are & how actions & words can hurt a person? How would they respond if
they were being or saw someone being bullied?
I have posted
the links for the YouTube videos for each of the above-mentioned stories. Perhaps
you will watch these videos with your children. Take a minute to reflect how
seemingly harmless actions can devastate another’s life. How can we change
people’s perceptions about others & create a positive message of kindness
& tolerance for our children? I would love to hear everyone’s thoughts
& hope this is one of many discussions about this issue.
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