All I've been reading about and hearing the past month is how bad bullying has gotten in schools and how many kids have taken their own lives because of it. I'm actually pretty angered by this news and I usually don't get worked up over things that don't have a direct impact on my life. I'm not only upset with the kids who are doing the bullying but I'm upset with the schools, the friends of the kids, and the parents of not only the bullies but the kids who commit suicide.
First of all, what is wrong with most kids now days? So many children and teens have serious problems with anger, depression, and aggression. So many teachers and parents apparently don't pay enough attention to the kids because every time a kid commits suicide it's "a shock this happened because he/she was such a happy person". Didn't ANYONE around these kids notice they were depressed or angry? Teachers you spend 8 hours a day around these kids and parents you spend the rest of the time around them. Are you really not paying enough attention to notice something is different about them? There is a school in Ohio that's had 4 suicides by kids who were bullied over the past 2 years! And not every kid that committed suicide is gay either. It just so happens that gay kids tend to be targeted by bullies more often than others.
I have a feeling that the reason the parents don't notice anything different about their children is because they don't spend enough time with them. Now days parents stick their child in front of a TV, or computer, or a video game and let it raise them. When I was growing up we had ONE TV for the entire family to use so if you wanted to watch anything you did it together as a family. Now days every single room in the house (sometimes including the bathroom) has a TV to watch. Kids come home, lock themselves in their rooms, and that's where they stay until the next day. That is NO way to raise your kid. Your job is not more important than your kids. The stupid video game you want to play is not more important than your kids. Your friends are NOT more important than your kids.
I know I probably don't understand how hard it is to raise a kid because I don't have any. I don't know how hard it is to teach a kid because I'm not a teacher. But I still find it hard to believe that absolutely nobody noticed there was anything wrong before they decided to take their own lives. It's highly possible that people noticed but were afraid to speak up because "it's none of their business" or "they were afraid they would get bullied". Kids are under so much pressure to be "cool" and "popular" that they are willing to sit back idly and watch this stuff happen. This is not right!
We need more kids like the friends I had in 6th grade who kept me from being bullied. I've never told anyone this because it wasn't that big of a deal and it didn't happen very often. But I had 2 awesome people take me under their wing in order to keep me from being picked on. Hayden and Kevin both allowed me to hang out with them before and after school because the people who were causing the problems left me alone thanks to them. I didn't go asking anyone for help and I certainly didn't tell my parents or any teachers about this. They just saw me getting picked on and stopped it. I wish there were more people in the world like that.
Parents talk to your kids please! Teachers talk to your students please! You have the power to stop the bullying. You have the power to prevent anything like this from happening again. Use this power to help your children. Talk to them and find out if there is anything bothering them. Show them that it's okay to open up and that they don't have to be afraid to tell anyone about being bullied. If your kid is the one doing the bullying find out why they are so aggressive and what they have to be angry about. Teachers talk to both set of parents or find someone at your school who will talk to them. That's all you have to do.....talk. Communication can be the most effective way of preventing this from happening. Most kids won't come to you so you need to go to them. If you have kids go talk to them tonight. Don't wait another day because it could be your last chance to help them. Let's stop this from happening again......
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