Bullies

Recently a father, fed up with his child being harassed on the bus, boarded the bus and verbally tried to straighten out the 'bullies' (no violence). For this, HE wound up in jail.

I think it is wrong that he went to jail!!! I would do the same if it were my child, without the profanity. lol

its so sad.. i'm so glad my kids dont' have to grow up in this world..i'm sorry but bullies aren't born.. what is going on with our kids that they feel they have to bully to get to the top.. and where are the parents?

Danielle,
Check out a couple of my recent posts if you care to. I wish we could get the word out to everyone regarding these topics. Cheers, Don

Bullying

http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474978557531

Suicide

http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474978557621

Kids are growing up in a very difficult time. Today, anyone can be a cyber-bully - because of the anonymity of the internet. Parents need to monitor what their children are doing on the internet, the way employers watch employees.

I agree and also have parental controls in place. My son wants a FB account. I think he is too young, needless to say he does not have one.

I just found out my son has been getting picked on for 2 years because he doesn't like sports. He just told me. I spoke to the school about it and he must tell the kids to stop and if they don't he has to report it. They will take care of it. Jon knows his worth but it still affects a person not to be accepted and made fun of because you are different.

I told him to tell them "one day you will look to me for a job" or "I hope you like hamburgers 'cause all you will get is a job at McDonald's with those grades.". So we shall see how it goes.

Bullies are nothing more than kids or even adults who are jealous or not self-confident in themselves. I was bullied a bit growing up, but had some wonderful friends and family who always assured me it really was nothing about me they hated, but themselves. My son is autistic, very different in fact, and he has friends in High School and he himself is only in 7th grade. I have told him since he was young he is special and can accomplish great things. To avoid people that are mean, and enjoy his life to the fullest.

Danielle, I So Agree! A Child has to be shown Daily that they are Loved and Wanted and be sure and Talk to your Child about Bulling., and Bullies.

Bullying has gotten so out of hand I think nowadays. I mean it seems like such a widespread problem instead of just a few isolated occassions. I'm thinking to myself, "Are kids really this mean in this country"?... Yeah, yes they are! My child had a problem with a bully at school a few years ago. I found out about it from him, then I went to the principals office, and talked with her about it. I asked her if we, (meaning my son, I, her, the "bully", and his parent, or parents), could have a meeting together in her office. (I didn't want to get into anything ugly, I simply wanted to get to the bottom of it. After a few weeks of "runaround". Her telling me she couldn't get the parent scheduled for any meeting, found out later she told me, "We don't set up meetings between parents".. By this time I was mad at the bully AND her.. I told her, ok, I gave my boy instructions about what to do the next time this bully hits or kicks my boy, (and I did give him instructions on where to hit him or kick him if he does something to him again). She proceeds to tell me, that MY boy will then be in trouble if he does anything. I'm thinking, "What the???!!! I finally called the police about it one day, explained the situation, he asked what age the kids were, (They were in about 3rd grade at the time), and he said, "Kids will be kids, you just have to let them work it out, we cannot do anything". I said, "What if I go down and talk to this boy myself at the school"? He said,, "You can be in trouble for doing that". The situation finally got resolved because the next school year they weren't in the same class. Something is very wrong with this country and the people in it. Until we get it fixed, I'm afraid there will be more suicides, more kids "taking the situation into their own hands", or even parents "taking the situation into their own hands".

There is something very wrong about your situation!! I"m appalled that they did nothing. When I was in kindergarten in Catholic school in Brooklyn (1974) a girl kept hurting me. My mom taught me not to fight back, try to talk it out with her. She kept at it until my mom told me to deck her. I did, I still remember her name and she never hit me again!!! It's so sad. I'm fortunate that my son is in private school and they are putting a stop to it, they called the parents and next step is being expelled if it doesn't stop.

There was something totally wrong with that situation! I told the principal, "I want that kid gone"! (And I meant it)! I asked if they had some kind of 0 tolerance policy, and they said no. I said, so, if someone comes in with a knife or a gun, or drugs, then it's a 0 tolerance, and they are expelled? She said yes. I said, but, it's ok for someone to hit or kick someone, they get talked to, but they can remain in school? Yes again. So glad it finally worked out. The kid is still in that school, but less of a bully I believe. People let this crap go on though, and then wonder why kids get fed up, and start shooting kids in the school, not saying that's right at all, but, I can understand it.

I agree, but with reservations. Sombody has got to get the parents of the bullies involved. Telling our children we love them and giving them self worth is not the only answer. It is part, but the answer.

My school called the parents and told them if it does not stop the bully will be expelled. I can't say they'd do the same if my son was in a public school, but I am happy how the private school is handling it.

I know we hear a lot more about bullying and children committing suicide because of it but I am not sure if that is because there is more of it or if it is because it is reported more. I was bullied as a child because I refused to allow other kids cheat off my papers. They tormented me so I would hide in the school until I was sure everyone was gone then I would sneak home through the words. Eventually they did catch me and attacked me. The police were called because I ran into someone's entry and refused to leave. My mom went in to speak to the principal and he had a meeting between the gang and myself. He told them if I suffered as much as a hangnail for the rest of the year he was holding them responsible. He was aggressive and screaming at them. He said if I was hurt in any way he would expel them and make sure the police pressed charges. Those kids were scared enough to leave me alone. Now if that happened today the principal would probably be facing charges of harassment or something. Kids today have no respect for authority and no fear of it either.

You are so right. I don't understand the lack of respect for authority. So sad that this happened to you. I'm glad you had the principal that you did.

Bullying has reached crisis proportions in this country. I thought it was bad when I was growing up but now I see the situation through the eyes of my children and grandchildren...it is truly sad. I also know parents who encourage bullying and want their kids to be violent. This makes it even more difficult for everyone else involved as there are no parents to talk to about their kids' behavior!

It brings to mind the woman on Facebook who created an account to torment a friend of her teen daughter....the poor girl wound up committing suicide. Bullying exists into adulthood now and often the perpetrators are protected rather than the victims. We all have to work together to make change by not allowing the bullies to take over our neighborhoods and even governments...the bullying is getting worse because they are infiltrating all walks of life.

You are so right!! I think bullying has always been, but it's just out in the open now. I've met adults my age that still feel the affects of being bullied in school. Prevention and awareness help but I'm sure there is more that can be done. And like you said what do you do when the parents encourage violence?

I can totally understand why kids are suiciding over bully incidents. It is utter torture that won't go away on its own.

I agree. It's very sad.

It's sad the way kids are being bullied. I've witnessed a group of young kids I babysit occasionally getting bullied after school because they're African and their friends are Chinese, there's a gang of white boys about 12-14 yrs old in my town that are ganging up on these young kids that range in age from 4-10 yrs old and instead of just yelling hateful things at them they're throwing rocks and dirt at them. The local police told me to keep my nose out of the situation and the problem will eventually go away once the younger ones learn the proper pecking order of this town. It's not just bullying when there's 12 jr high age monsters vs 4 little kids who don't even understand why this is happening to them or the meaning of the words, they know they're bad words and that these older ones are being mean but they don't understand why.
They don't understand why when they're taught in school that in America the police are your friend and if they're being bullied by somebody they can tell the police and the police will help them, the police aren't helping at all.

I posted something I called Bullies and Law Enforcement, it goes into more detail about what's happening to the little kids and the threats being made and carried out against my brother and I for getting in the middle of things a few times.

The police are trying to convince me that it's just kids will be kids and I shouldn't worry about it if somebody else gets hurt, its the cycle of life, survival of the fittest and also if I don't want to get hurt or have my bike stolen 1 I should ignore what's going on and 2 don't ride a bike anywhere.
I don't agree with any of this!