Bullying

There's been alot said in the news about bullying lately and I thought I've give my take on it. By the way, this is something that's been around a long time and we've all had to deal with it, ourselves or with our kids. I think it's been primarily a girl thing or mean girl, as we now prefer to call them and they prey on others who they perceive as weak. When my kids came to me with concerns like this, first of all I thought it was important that they learn to handle it themselves. When I worked at preschool and kids would come to me with a bullying issue, I would always try to get them to stand up to this person and fight , not literally, their own battles. Bullies seem to feed off this weakness, hence not everyone is bullied. I know there have been cases of kids committing suicide after bullying but, not to minimize the effect of it, I'm not convinced that the sole reason for it was the bullying. I think that child has deeper issues that needed to be addressed. I hope it doesn't sound like I'm rallying for the bully because I'm not. I believe the solution lies in an all out campaign to stop bullying, which I think has already begun in the media, and which we have done with drugs and smoking. That's not to say we will succeed but talking about it, especially in the schools is the first step. Bullying is something that you never get over due, in part, to the fact that there's no good reason for it. It shouldn't be confused with standing up for yourself with others or reacting to something that's been said about you. Even at my age, all it takes is a little dig of sorts and it sends me right back to me in my 20's and having some play money crumbled up and thrown at me during a monopoly game. Sounds petty, I know, but that feeling inside me will linger forever.