Face School Bullying From The Get-Go
We worry about a lot of things as parents, and when our children start school, we have a whole host of new things to think about. I’m not too concerned with how well my daughter will do, because by all accounts she’s a bright girl. I do worry about her falling under the influence of the wrong people, and I do worry about school bullying. I think we all have at least seen this in action, and many of us have had to deal with it at least once before we left high school.
“…being the new kid in class sometimes made me the target of school bullying…”I had to put up with some school bullying because I moved around a lot. We rarely stayed in one place for any longer than a year, and that meant I was always changing schools. Being the new kid is hard when you have to do it once. Can you imagine what it is like to start a new school each year, and sometimes even having to start in a new place twice in one school year? It was never easy, and being the new kid in class sometimes made me the target of school bullying.
Luckily for me, it never went too far. I was a quiet student, but I also had a strong sense of self. There were moments when I felt horrible about myself, but I never let someone at school make me feel that way. I learned to ignore those who liked to pick on the new kid, and I was a happier kid for it. I do know that once I was no longer the new kid, the school bullying seemed to stop and those kids would then focus on the newer person. It was horrible to watch, but I was always glad when they were done with me.
As I got older, I faced school bullying right from the get go and as a result, it never went anywhere. There was just something about me that made people stop once I confronted them. Perhaps I had to be tough because I moved around so much, but I may never know what it was. I do know my daughter is very outgoing, and I hope that if she ever encounters school bullying that she can handle it like I did. I do know that I will try to guarantee that she never has to change schools. At least that is one source of school bullying I can help her avoid.
