Bullying Needs to End

This mama heart was heavy a couple weeks ago. I waited to post this, because I didn't want my writing to be rage-fueled and full of emotional word vomit. I had found out that my son has been getting picked on at school by a couple of kids. Picked on for things he shouldn't even be getting picked on for. The he's smart and likes social studies. For the water bottle he brings to school. That he's from Michigan. His haircut that he got when we were in Michigan for spring break. They have also been excluding him from playing wall ball and four square during recess.

As an adult, I know to observe and not absorb the behavior or unkindness of other adults. At the end of the day, their behavior has nothing to do with me, but everything to do with their own sense of insecurity. For children, that concept is not always something that is easy for them to do or even understand. Today, bullying is more prevalent than ever. And the aftermath is devastatingly heartbreaking. There are more and more reports of kids dying by suicide because of being bullied. There are viral videos out there of teachers taking a stand in their class and laying into kids who are responsible for bullying others. I commend those teachers.

Moving nearly 2,000 miles away from where we had built a life was hard enough. Having to start over in a new place and meet new people is not an easy thing to do. As a child, having to leave your friends from school and start at a brand new school is stressful. And as a parent, you want to do anything and everything in your power to make it as smooth of a transition as possible. When my son started making friends and mentioning kids by name, I was filled with so much joy. Thank God, I thought. He invited some of those kids to his birthday party back in February and some of them were able to make it, along with his new hockey friends. Oh, it was such a relief. The thought of my son being bullied was removed from my mind entirely. Luckily, the school acted quickly and handled the situation with the students, and there hasn't been any issues since.

I've always told my son that he doesn't need to be friends with everyone. He doesn't even have to like everyone. But he CANNOT intentionally be an asshole. Instead, focus your energy on something that brings you joy and surround yourself by people who make you happy. Don't waste your time and energy on people, places and things that cause any negative emotions to arise.

Parents, we need to do better. We need to BE better. We need to ensure that our kids know that bullying of any kind is NEVER acceptable behavior. We need to lead by example and teach our kids to have kindness and empathy towards others so we can leave the world a better place than when we found it.