As I have mentioned in a previous post my number one priority as a parent is for my children to be safe, so you can image how very sad I felt for the parents of Olivia Penpraze when I watched the episode on Bullying on Sunday Night (channel 7 last night).

Olivia was subjected to bullying over a prolonged period of time and in an effort to feel she was not alone started trying to connect with others on social media like Facebook and YouTube. How do you keep your children safe when people are then coming into your home and telling your child to kill themselves because they are a waste of space?

The hardest part about bullying is the sense of helplessness. Helplessness for the victim and also for the parents. You want to be able to be able to fix things for your children but you also want them to be able to solve problems for themselves. I really felt for Alex and his mother. Alex,  another victim of bullying was also featured in the Sunday Night episode and is in a new film called Bully in theatres in Australia on August 23rd.  His mother initially thinking he was exaggerating the severity of bullying on the school bus went to see the school after she saw footage of what her son had to endure each day. And you know what they did about it? Nothing. Even after they had viewed the footage. He was being choked, punched, stabbed with pencils and abused..... everyday and they did nothing.  

Now this is not an issue that he was ever going to be able to resolve on his own and he shouldn't have to. This is the time that the parents should be stepping in for him, and they did and nothing came of it. So, as a parent what do we do??

It's unfair to say it is all the schools fault because there are many good teachers who will do something about it and take action on your child's behalf, if they know about it. The biggest tips I got from watching Sunday Night were keep an eye on our kids, watch for any changes in their behaviour, look out for them withdrawing from things they love, keep communication channels open and let them know how much you love them always.

It still doesn't seem like enough though.
 
See ya,

Lee