Comments on: Do kids need to be bullied?

By: Arp

Arp — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 14:58:44 +0000

There’s a lot that kids are expected to deal with that isn’t the case for adults. And a lot of ‘I dealt with it and you have to as well.’ As much as my several month experience of being bullied by almost my whole class has shaped who I am, I would not want my kids to go through that. Along with the positives (fierce & confident individuality) came the negatives (hyper academic competitiveness as a means of constantly proving my superiority, which took me away from who I really am).

By: Kelly

Kelly — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 02:34:07 +0000

This was a great read, and I completely agree with pretty much every point. Especially:

“Children can learn to handle a jerk when they are good & ready, and that’s different for every child.”

Right. I mean some ADULTS can’t handle a “jerk” very well, eh? I don’t think forcing a kid to be around bullies is good for them. Kids run into jerks in their lifetime, and I do think like anything else, our support and guidance (while hanging back a bit to see how they’re doing) is what’s necessary. Not just, dumping them off somewhere with jerks and saying, grimly, “Deal with it!”

By: Sarah

Sarah — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 20:23:45 +0000

Bullies made my school experience a negative one that would impact me forever. I won’t allow my children to go through that. The day either of them come to me and tell me school is a stressful place for them, they will be out of there. I tried to get my mom to let me transfer to an alternative school in 7th grade where much of the work was done independently and she was also worried about the socialization thing, but my social experience was not very good. Ultimately I dropped out of school at 15 and at 18 entered college where I could at last learn in peace. School authorities never did a damn thing either. My 5 year old daughter is excelling and very popular but if my 2.5 year old, shy and an observer like I was, ever has a hard time in school, I will homeschool her. Bad school experiences is to blame for so many shooting rampages. IMO, it is one of the most traumatic things some kids will ever experience and sets them up for lifelong difficulties, especially with self-esteem.

BTW, congrats on your beautiful baby. I read the birth story with much interest. Trish you are very brave! It’s nice to be reminded of the strength us women have inside of us that we often don’t tap into. Hope your Costa Rican experience is good and getting better.

By: Arp

Arp — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 17:38:20 +0000

Ah – so if s/he tried to rat you out, it would the word of the little shithead vs the Responsible Parent…

By: Stacey

Stacey — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 06:26:12 +0000

Thanks for the compliment on my “little pumkins”. To avoid any lawsuit issues, I tried to “speak” to the bully one on one without any other onlookers.