Links for 10-30-06

And the difference is that you are paying attention. Many parents are not. Bullying and fighting are quite common in school, and they're not a normal part of an adult life--or shouldn't be.

When I was bullied and beat up in school, it took a lot for me to finally tell my mom, and by that point it was pretty bad. I was getting followed home from school by a couple of former friends who were neighbors, and a different group of girls had it in for me in the school itself. I did everything to resolve it myself, but eventually I ran out of options. I think I must have had a huge target on me, somehow. I hadn't gone to grade school there, I had to dress differently (long story) and I took myself far too seriously.

I still have the (emotional) scars from those years. It took me years to figure out that if I was in an abusive situation, I could just leave; I didn't have to fight it out, and I didn't deserve it. The first time I did, I was thunderstruck: I could just leave? wow.

No one's telling you you're a bad mom, Phelan.

Lynn Siprelle, Editor

I wasn't really suggesting that you were calling me a bad mom. It was just the overall sense of the orignal blog entry. It read like this was a common thing, and that we {public schoolers} think that our children need to be beat up. I was never bullied, but that was because my mother tried her best to teach me how to carry myself so that I didn't become a victim.

I don't put up with bulling. My kids are aware of this and know that I will march down to the school or to the other child's house, dragging them behind me, so that they can make an apology. I know few parents are willing to do this. I also have tattled {yep I tattled} on an abusive teacher, and a bus driver. I don't think our kids should have to deal with adult behaving like children.