…scientists suspect that the daily stress of being bullied can translate into long-term damage to your body.
Parents also need to remember to help repair the damage that bullying does to a child’s self-esteem, says Pollack. “You need to tell the child that this isn’t happening because there’s something wrong with him.”
In short, if your kid is getting bullied for being fat, putting him on a diet probably isn’t the best way to handle it.
I don’t know about you all, but I’ve often picked up on this kind of cultural attitude that says, “Well, I was bullied at school, and it sucked, but that’s just the way it is and you have to learn to deal with it.” And that bothers me.
Why? Well, not discounting the fact that sometimes people can turn horrid experiences into valuable lessons for themselves later in life, I don’t think bullying accomplishes anything. I don’t think anyone needs to be bullied in order to grow into a productive adult.
And it’s hell to go through.
So, to me, the idea that because kids have always been bullied, they should therefore continue to be bullied and just put up with it, is bullshittery of the highest order.
Just…no.
Kids benefit from being with other kids, yes. And, yes, using the public school system is a necessity for most families.
But putting kids together in great enough numbers that they can’t be properly supervised? That’s asking for all sorts of Lord of the Flies shit to go down in the margins.
And not because kids are naturally evil, but because kids aren’t born civil and socialized. Just like puppies aren’t born knowing not to eat your couch, or not to pee in your shoes. It takes years and years of learning.
If you want kids to grow up to be well-socialized, to be good citizens and adults, then they need to have enough contact with well-socialized good citizens and adults. Meaning, I believe there needs to be a higher ratio of adults to children than there currently is in places where kids are cared for, whether it’s school or daycare or maybe even home.
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