The Dr. Phil season has barely kicked off and already I am seeing him tackle a lot of teen issues. The biggest one on his plate is bullying. He has already done a couple of shows on teen bullying and is now starting an anti-bullying campaign.
Like Dr. Phil, I too believe this is a serious issue. With technological advances in our society, bullying has been taken to a whole new degree. As I have said before, the bullying has to stop.
One of the things that I feel would greatly help to stop bullying is if parents and teachers worked together. However before that can even happen, both need to be aware and understanding of the seriousness of this problem. No more can adults say, “Kids will be kids” or dismiss it as something they had to go through when they were younger and they will get through it.
No, we did not have to go through what children are dealing with today. The worst you had to deal with was a note being passed around the school. Now it can reach the world with cell phones and social networking sites.
Technology allows for children who may not normally act like a bully to easily become one. They can hide behind their actions. Just think of the mom who pretended online to be a teenager and bullied another girl so badly that she ended up committing suicide.
Bullying is not what it used to be. Parents and teachers need to be aware. In addition, teachers and school administration should never be “off the clock” when it comes to dealing with bullying. In one of the shows I watched, a teen who was being bullied had a principal whose response was that he couldn’t do anything about what happens over the weekend or off school grounds. I disagree.
I think if teachers and school officials really care about children they will work with parents around the clock to ensure that no more suicides happen. Parents whose children are bullies need to step up to the plate and instead of saying “not my child,” deal with it immediately.
Teachers need to be concerned about what takes place off school grounds because it will certainly end up affecting the entire school if a child ends up taking their life. It is time that parents and teachers step up to the plate and work together.
Talk to your teens. Talk to your teen’s teachers and principal. Encourage them to address bullying, instead of dealing with it in the hereafter. Let’s not allow another child to end their life because of the cruelty of another.