I blame the parents
Last night as I watched The Voice I became
enraged as we were introduced to a young man with Tourette Syndrome. I became
so cross I have decided to blog about it. This young man told of how he was
bullied in school. This is when I really saw red!
Is it 2013? Are we supporting our children
to embrace difference or are we laughing and sniggering at those who are
different? Why in this day and age is bullying still so rife?
I work as a psychotherapist and each and
every day in my practice I come across stories of bullying. It makes my blood
boil. I 100% blame the parents. Yes, that’s right you heard me I blame you for
allowing this to continue. We all know it’s wrong so why is it still happening?
Bullying behavior is seemingly happening
all over the world in every school in every city and town across the world.
Why can’t parents sit their children down
and tell them bullying is not acceptable?
Why can’t parents tell their kids it is not
acceptable to be on the receiving end of bullying or to be a bully? Do we really need others to tell us this? I
don’t think so but just in case I’m telling you to sit your kids down and tell
them all about it.
Please join me in this and spend five
minutes with all of your children and tell them in no uncertain terms that
bullying is an act of cowardice. Tell them that bullying is not smart, clever
or funny but that it is despicable and dreadful. Tell them that it hurts people
and that some people cannot bear to continue living as a result of being on the
receiving end of it. Let’s stamp it out. Let’s be sure that we are not passive
in this and that we are active in our parenting.
Let’s STOP bullying and let’s do it NOW.
Totally agree
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your comment. If we all just simply take the time to set positive examples and to talk to our kids I'm sure it will make a huge difference.
ReplyDeleteI afternoon Vivien. I also think it's partly school responsibility to guide children as essentially this is where it will happen most often that not under peer pressure, even after we talk to them...
ReplyDeleteThe school where the boys for is main stream but has a mix of disability in attendance, down syndrome, cystic fybrosis among others, this offers an opportunity to talk about disability and to see the children engage with each other is amazing.
Yes Kelly I agree School has a part to play. I have recently had a reason to speak with school myself. I was so impressed how everything was managed! I really was quite surprised but very happy that that things got nipped in the bud very quickly and professionally.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment. In terms of disabled learners I think it would be awesome to bring in British Sign Language (BSL) and to add this as a language option. It would be awesome if deaf learners could be included more naturally in mainstream settings.
I work with many children who are being bullied and the job to get them built up again is a hard one and takes time. I think it is one of those subjects that we always need to talk about with our kids - what if they are bullied and how they must not do it - teach them good values, respect for themselves and for others.
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