bully this...

I cannot even put into words how sad it makes me that the children of today have to grow up in such a scary place. You always hear about school shootings, bullying and children committing suicide because of pure stupidity. Not stupidity on their part but the part of others. It is inconceviable that a child could feel so badly due to what others have said and done that leads them to end their own lives. They were bullied so badly and felt so alone when all they needed was a friend. Horrible! When I grew up, sure we had kids that were made fun of. I'm sure at one point or another I was the one doing some of the teasing. Thankfully, I was never a frequent recipient of being bullied, but I can only imagine how horrible it can make someone feel.

Someone called Isabella ugly in school last week. Granted they are only 4 and the other kid probably didn't even know what she was really saying, but I lost it. I know any parent would be angry to hear someone called their kid ugly, but it really hits us hard due to the whole cleft thing. All I wanted to do was march into school and ask the kid what the hell she was thinking, then I remembered that I'm an adult and I need to set an example. So I turned it into a teaching experience. I explained to Isabella how we never want to hurt other's feelings. Because just how it hurt Isabella's feelings it would do the same had she said something harmful to someone else. I told her we never want to make someone else feel bad no matter how angry we may be.

It breaks my heart that my children have to grow up in fear. It's so terribly sad that someone else thinks they, for whatever reason, have the right to threaten children in a place they are supposed to feel safe, in school. Today I got word of a suspected gunmen in around a near by high school threatening to shoot children, causing all area schools to be placed on lock down. A few months ago there were threats at my college Alma mater against gays and lesbians which lead to snipers being placed on the roofs of buildings.

Gone are the good old days of letting kids play outside alone with friends on nice days. You have to be on constant guard for fear something terrible will happen to them. I try and not convey my fear to my children rather educate them on an age appropriate level. I want them to be able to experience a childhood like mine, free of worry with the ability to just be a kid. It really scares me what the future will be like for my grandchildren. What on earth are they going to have to worry about? Something needs to change for these kids and fast.