Heartbreaking: 10-year-old Jasmine McClain Hangs Herself Over Bullying | Clutch Magazine: The Digital Magazine for the Young, Contemporary Woman of Color
How did we ever get to this? When will it end? These are the two questions I see (or hear) whenever there is a report of a suicide/death because of a child or anyone being bullied. Bullying is out there, alive and flourishing! It happens in schools and especially on the playground in "Anywhere" USA, as well as Globally! I have a 10 year old girl, a very spirited child who loves life. I've often had to calm her down and or come to her defense whenever her friends get out of control. I've often had to go to another parent to let them know that their child is doing something wrong. Many times the parent has no clue what is going on because they don't 'see' it, or never knew it was happening!
How did we ever get to this? When will it end? These are the two questions I see (or hear) whenever there is a report of a suicide/death because of a child or anyone being bullied. Bullying is out there, alive and flourishing! It happens in schools and especially on the playground in "Anywhere" USA, as well as Globally! I have a 10 year old girl, a very spirited child who loves life. I've often had to calm her down and or come to her defense whenever her friends get out of control. I've often had to go to another parent to let them know that their child is doing something wrong. Many times the parent has no clue what is going on because they don't 'see' it, or never knew it was happening!
Oftentimes the parent is too busy focusing on providing for their household to notice anything askew. So long as their child (children) is not complaining, doesn't come home with anything 'bad' and is seemingly happy they don't have to worry about anything. Not because they don't love or care for their kids, but because they are trying to survive. I can understand this outlook, because in this economy right now, we're all trying to make ends meet, and to get ahead while providing for our families. However, as parents, it is so important to do more! I make it a point when I go home every evening to ask each of my children, and even my grandson, "Did you have a good day today?" or "How was school today?" and then they will rattle off what they did, or just say "OK". If the response is the latter, I dig a little more to make sure everything IS really "OK"!
Sometimes knowing that our children are "good" kids, (and they often are!) we leave it up to them to handle anything that is not seemingly important! As parents we have to make sure that we interact with our children, really talk to them! Know who their friends are, or or not; know who they are playing with; and even if you don't know all of their friends, when they are outside playing, take a moment to go check on them, to see who the friends are and to know what IS going on when your child is outside on the playground. Often times I will stumble upon a disagreement between one or more of the children who are playing. Sometimes my child might be involved, other times not. But I don't stand on the sideline, I get involved!
Sometimes knowing that our children are "good" kids, (and they often are!) we leave it up to them to handle anything that is not seemingly important! As parents we have to make sure that we interact with our children, really talk to them! Know who their friends are, or or not; know who they are playing with; and even if you don't know all of their friends, when they are outside playing, take a moment to go check on them, to see who the friends are and to know what IS going on when your child is outside on the playground. Often times I will stumble upon a disagreement between one or more of the children who are playing. Sometimes my child might be involved, other times not. But I don't stand on the sideline, I get involved!
We have to communicate with these kids. Sometimes they might not come to us because they feel that we won't listen. It is our job to let them know that we will! You know how sometimes as a parent you over-react to a given situation. However, you have to listen without prejudice or anger so that the child will feel comfortable coming to you and speaking with you.
Schools have to make it a priority to do the same. They have to make bullying of other children a focus in their curriculum, that is how important it is. It is never too late to begin this focus, but it will be too late after a child has been hurt or killed!
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