Connecting moms in Polk County, Fla.
Verbal Bullying
My Son came home today and told me two boys in his class always call him names...and they are also mean to other kids in the class ( verbally) i know Sticks and stones may break my bones but names cannot hurt me ..but these kids Call Him Baby Hippo , Tubo...etc...He is a overweight by about 10 lbs but he is very tall for his age.
I have told him to ignore them , and if it bothers him to tell the teacher (i so hate tattle tales) .
My son told me he has told on them before and they deny it and of course the teacher believes these other kids..
one of the kids my son has been friends with since Pre K and they are both now in 4th grade the other Kid they all just Met this yr.
I need advice..Do i say something to the Teacher ?.
Do i just let my child handle it .?
Thanks
Views: 245
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by il est ma vie on -
The fact that he says thus to you could be that he wants you to intervene. I would talk to his teacher. My #1 fear for my son starting KG new school year is 'BULLLYING'. Words hurt, they are powerful. They can play a horrible trick on ones self esteem. He's too young to lose his. <---IMO
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Permalink Reply by Amanda on -
Thank you ....My son told me also today that he does not tell on them, He preferes to give them "" Grace" because that is what GOD says to do...Wow Pretty Powerful words coming from a 9 yr old ..He is not a Perfect Angle ...But He has a Soft Heart!....
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Permalink Reply by Shawn Spivey on -
If this is a topic he's bringing home with him outside the company of the children calling him names, then to me, it must be weighing on him, staying with him.
I know you asked if you should intervene. Did you ask your son what he wanted your role to be? I think I would reassure him that you're there for him in the format he wants you to be whether it's a sounding board for venting or an advocate to stand up for him or beside him. I certainly wouldn't put chatting with school admin about this out of the question.
I hope this gets better for your guy!
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Permalink Reply by MandyJay on -
Personally, I'd say something. According to your initial post, this is something he tried to tell the teacher and the teacher is disbelieving him. That's pretty hard for a kid to take especially when he's the one facing abuse in an area that he can't leave (i.e., the classroom and school).
At age 9 most kids are too immature to handle this sort of thing on their own. Shoot, I know adults who couldn't handle it on their own and that's no slam -- it's really hard to be demeaned by others and disbelieved by those who should be watching over your wellbeing.
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Permalink Reply by Jmarr on -
My son admitted to me that some kids were calling him names and teasing him every day at PE (the entire grade has PE at the same time). The fact that my son brought it up to me was unusual, so I took that as a sign that it was really bothering him and he didn't know how to handle it. He told me he just ignored them but he had an incident in kindergarten where he got suspended for hitting another student, so I didn't want it to escalate. My husband and I met with the assistant principal the next day. She called in everyone later that day to get their side of the story. My son says it got better right away.
In my son's case, they were calling him things like "baby" and "stupid" and "twinkle toes". My son had developmental delays and is still a "toe walker" at times. I wonder if that is where they got "twinkle toes" from...or maybe they are just saying he is like a girl. He isn't into girly things at all....he's all about dinosaurs and action films, but I did notice him hanging out with the girls more in PE, probably because he is worried that he can't keep up with the boys.
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Permalink Reply by Elena C Giarratano on
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I am a former ESE, Highly Qualified Elementary Teacher, Crystal Lake ES. I have been 'Black Listed" throughout Florida by Polk County School Board because I stood up for ESE students. There was a serious breach of Student Confidential info, including student id #'s, ESE diagnosis, medications and ss #'s. I gave the info to the Principal and waited one year for him to do something. Instead, he bullied and harassed me. I went up the "chain of command" and the then Director of ESE said, "I'll wait for the DOE to do something!" I complained to the DOE and Crystal Lake was ordered to take immediate, corrective action.
I knew the possible consequences, before I brought the matter to the Principal's attention. I had heard about his bullying of teachers. However, "He that is in me is greater than he that is in the world." Polk Moms, you need to unite and have ZERO TOLERANCE for bullying! If you let it slide, for fear of "making it worse", it will be come worse. Remember the student in Cleveland Hills MS, I think, who committed suicide because he was relentlessly bullied? The Principal's reaction was 'he never said anything.' You need to start sitting in your children's classrooms and monitoring the atmosphere -one of tolerance or intolerance? There is the well-funded organization "Parent Revolution", that almost forced charter schools, in Florida, wherever parents are fed up with the school board. Start a Polk County chapter. Strength in numbers!
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Permalink Reply by Amanda on
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Thanks for all of your input, i will be emailing the teacher this week ...My son knows how to defend him self and i kind of worry that if it escalates he will have to defend him self...At this point, he is just ignoring them.
I usally do not call out the kids names when speaking to the teacher, but this time i will...My Son told me that when one of the two students is not there , the other student does not say anything to him and is actually nice to him...and that to me is worse...my son is a very trusting soul
thanks again
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Permalink Reply by Jmarr on
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Sounds like peer pressure to me Amanda. The kid is afraid to be nice to your son in front of the kids who bully him. It's good that you have names.
Same thing happened in our case. I remembered all the bully prevention worksheets and things they sent home with my son. It said to speak up if you see someone being bullied...anonymously if you have to. I asked him "did any of your friends see it happen?" He said that one boy saw it, and actually tried to help, but the bullies started picking on him too. I made a point to tell the principal about him and I also made sure I talked to that boy's mom. I told her what a nice boy she had. They aren't even good friends...just classmates, and he still tried to do the right thing when he saw my son being bullied!
Amanda said:Thanks for all of your input, i will be emailing the teacher this week ...My son knows how to defend him self and i kind of worry that if it escalates he will have to defend him self...At this point, he is just ignoring them.
I usally do not call out the kids names when speaking to the teacher, but this time i will...My Son told me that when one of the two students is not there , the other student does not say anything to him and is actually nice to him...and that to me is worse...my son is a very trusting soul
thanks again
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