Bullying

One of the most frustrating things I experience as a mom with a child in the public schools is the overuse of the word "bullying." The school's are trying to make kids aware of what bullying is, by oversimplifying it. So now, it is not uncommon for my daughter to say, "I was bullied today." She then tells a story of a kid who was rude to her, obnoxious, ornery, etc, but not really bullying.

Of course, I then attempt to explain the difference between bullying and what she is experiencing.

I then realize why the schools, especially in elementary school, take the oversimplified way of teaching children what bullying is, because even I am too afraid to share with her the numerous stories of children being bullied and feeling so desperate they take their own life. 

So after repetitive incorrect uses of the word bullying by my daughter, I decided to look it up, and see how to discuss what bullying really is. I came across stopbullying.org website. They defined bullying as a repetitive abuse of an imbalance in power. That is when I realized the key to explaining it to her is repetitive abuse, not the one snotty comment that hurts her feelings.

In my lifetime, I have definitely seen my share of bullying. I did have a brief period myself that may be defined as bullying, but it was short-lived and though it destroyed my self-confidence for longer than the bullying lasted, it has shaped a lot of my life decisions. I need to pray for my daughter and any future children I have, that they do not experience this, but more than that, I need to show them, no matter what happens out in the world, I love them, Kevin loves them, they have a huge support system that will cheer them on, even when the world pushes them down.

I cannot stop what happens outside of my home. What I can do, is I can teach my children love. Not just that they are loved, but that they should love others. This is a hard task, especially since so many other areas in life are teaching them how to judge, hate, criticize, condemn. I do my best, but I guess, more than that, I need to pray that she learns love. Because I can only do so much, so much of what happens outside of my home, is up to her.

Although there are many reasons why I'd love to homeschool, I hope and pray that because we've decided to do the public school route, that she will be a light when there is darkness.