Bully-Free Future

As we celebrated Mother’s Day,  a friend related a horrific story about bullying in her daughter’s high school. 

It seems that a group of high school girls had singled out a new student as a target.  Among some of the antics, the girls went so far as to invite the new student to a non-existent party.  All of us can imagine what this young girl must have felt as she arrived-probably thrilled to have been invited-to a darkened house.

The story sparked a heated discussion around the table. 

My friend, who lives in the community, was outraged, but hesitant to speak out for fear that her own children might become victims-and this was no idle fare.  Outright bullying and ostracism of children-as a consequence of a parent’s speaking out has occurred in this community before.  If fact, many people simply throw up their hands and say, ‘it’s just the way the community is’.  It reminded me of the stories of the Germans who threw up their hands and said there was nothing that they could do about Hitler!

So, the question remains can we stop and prevent bullying?

I would argue that we can, must and should work towards creating an environment where all of our children are safe from bullying-in any form.  The trick is to start early and to keep reminding kids-and parents-what bullying is-and isn’t. 

Bullying in any shape or form is simply not acceptable.  It is not a rite of passage or something that kids (or adults, for that matter) have to accept. 

It is not something to be ignored or to be made light of. 

Kids won’t grow out of it.

And yes, there are things that we can do to prevent bullying from happening and to stop it if it is happening to your children now.  And yes, it is a huge and growing problem in our country and around the world.  But like many overwhelming problems the first step is oftentimes the hardest step.

Let’s take the first step together and start looking at our role in bullying (and believe me, none of us is immune!) and then let’s make the choice to eliminate bullying one step, one child, one family, one school and one community at a time.

With Respect, Deb

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