CHILDREN ARE SUPPOSED TO be filled with laughter, joy, peace, and forgiveness. They shouldn’t be afraid to live free and childlike. Nowadays, our children step into unknown and uncomfortable situations that make them feel helpless and hopeless.
They are falling without wings to keep them aloft. We, the parents, guardians, teachers, school administrators, and higher authorities are supposed to help our children develop their wings, as opposed to clipping them. If an eagle’s wings were clipped, it wouldn’t be able to soar and take over the skies.
When the silent killers — bullies, teachers, higher authorities, parents, and guardians clip our children’s wings, their confidence is shattered into trillions of pieces. What it looks like in their eyes is impossible to put back together.
Our children are weighed down by hurt, worries, and pain that are inflicted on them on a daily basis. They do not think about their life’s purpose, the only thoughts that run through their precious minds are survival and how to get through another day.
If we, the adults (parents, guardians, teachers, school administrators, and higher authority) do not take the time to listen to our children they will throw in the towel. They will feel lost and unworthy because they do not have anyone to represent them to bring forth justice.
Clipped wings will have caused our children to live in isolation and fear which rob our children of their birthright — which is happiness. Our children shouldn’t cry silent or ‘survival’ tears, nor should they have to brace themselves to suit up for a battle they feel like they have to fight alone.
Now is the time to decide to make the change. It is time to take action. It is our responsibility as a parent, guardian, teacher, and higher authority to
support and listen to our children. Their voices should never go unheard. We must identify the problem. Once the problem is identified we should take action. When taking action, it shouldn’t be swept up under the rug, instead, it should be taken seriously, not personally, and justice should be served by using the right protocol. Listening to our children, showing support, and most importantly, seeing results, is crucial.
From my experience, justice is never easily served. It is very frustrating to see the evidence plain, clear, front, and center. However, some teachers, higher authorities, and some parents always make up excuses to hide the truth. From my niece’s experience, the teachers who verbally, physically, and mentally bullied her took matters into their own hands. They never admitted their wrongdoing, yet they made my niece’s life a living hell as she attended school every day. My niece felt like she didn’t have a way out.
The higher authorities/principals didn’t make it any better; they protected the teachers in their wrongdoing. When my niece reported her teacher’s and principal’s actions her situation became a personal matter.
In my niece’s case, the teachers and higher authorities abused their power in the worst way. Their inappropriate behaviors weren’t questioned. Their actions were overlooked. My niece cried for help and she was ignored. She wasn’t protected, only abused and tortured. It never amazes me how some adults never take ownership of their responsibilities and the damage they cause.
Their unkind and rude behavior alone is a perfect example of why we should always give our children the benefit of the doubt. Just like my daddy said to me when I was younger, “There are always three sides of the story. Their side, your side, and the truth.”
We should always reassure our children that they are never alone. Time flies by so fast that before we know it our children will be grown and living their own lives. With that being said, we should never miss a chance to empower our children. Our children’s individuality is unique and we should teach them to embrace their authentic selves.
As I gathered my facts and contemplated on the problems I was having with my youngest son being bullied by the same little boy, I came to the conclusion that the teachers did all they could do on their end. Sometimes, there’s only so much the teachers can do, but that doesn’t mean the higher authorities/principals can’t hold the student and parents responsible for their actions.
After talking to the young boy’s mother, she was in denial, and she stated she was unaware of what was going on. However, after I contacted the principal it amazed me how the young boy’s mother quickly changed her mind.
Sometimes the parents are the problem because they often make excuses for their children. They make the most excuses when they know their children should know better. Most of the time, those are the children who need help mentally but their parents neglect to seek help, or those are the children who run the household, and the parents let them get away with their outrageous behavior. Last but not least, sometimes, whether parents want to believe it or not, the children bully them as well. A parent/guardian has to look carefully and see if their child is acting out for attention.
Either way, the parents need to step up to the plate to discipline their children. They need to do their part and join in their children’s lives to dissect what is going on, and what they can do to help.
Our children shouldn’t have to think something is wrong with them because the parents/guardians, teachers, or higher authorities feel as though our children’s voices are invalid.
Our children shouldn’t have to wonder, “What about us?” because some parents/guardians, teachers, school administrators, and higher authorities neglected to step out, to dare to be different and make the right choice by not tolerating bullying.
I firmly believe that we can prevent the silent killer from permanently damaging our children. The first step is for the teacher to report it to the parents and higher authorities, or vice versa.
Secondly, the higher authorities should discipline the bully so that other students and parents will see that bullying isn’t allowed.
Thirdly, the parents/guardians should stop being in denial and discipline their children as well.
If the bullying behavior doesn’t improve, the parents should seek help for their child. If the parents neglect to seek help or if there isn’t anything wrong with the child, after they seek help, and the bullying continues, then the parents/guardians should be held responsible for their child’s behavior.
If a teacher is a bully, they should be fired because a teacher doesn’t have the right to “restrain” a child by choking, throwing books, angrily yelling, and being out of control in general. That is unacceptable. It should be recognized and dealt with as soon as possible without any excuses — and no exceptions.
We have to look beneath the surface and work our way up to the core to ask hard questions; to put a fire under those who are accountable for mistreating our children. We cannot surrender to their senseless excuses.
We have to dig for resources that will work in our favor. It will not be an easy task but we must be persistent to work towards seeing results. When it comes to bullying, there is no such thing as negotiating. We must hit the ground running and trust our vision because our children are our priorities. Therefore, we must keep striving, fighting, and pushing until we change the course of justice for our children.
As we work on change for the better, we should go above and beyond to help deepen our relationships with our children. We have to help our children to embrace, accept, and express themselves as they are.
Building a relationship, foundation, and confidence in our children is how they learn to love themselves, accept their flaws, and dance to the beat of their own drum. After all, they are a reflection of us — we are our children’s foundation.
When paving the foundation for our children at a young age we have to instill in their minds not to worry about what others think or say about them because we cannot please and make everyone happy. We have to remind them constantly not to connect their self-worth to other people’s words and thoughts, for their actions, are a personal matter they have with themselves.
We have to teach our children that they have a voice, and they can roar as loud as they want. We have to instill in our children not to deny their abilities in making a difference by speaking up and coming to us for help. Most importantly, we have to let our children know there is no such thing as being held down by someone else’s opinions of them. Other’s thoughts are like confetti. They don’t matter, and they fade away just like smoke from a fire.
As they grow, they will start to pave another layer of their foundation as we step aside, but not too far. Although it will seem as though they do not need our help, from time to time we need to step in to let them know life is about both disappointment and achievements.
Life is a force to be reckoned with but it creates perseverance and helps them to determine a life that is rightly theirs. We have to let them know the script changes for the better, and at times for the worse, therefore, boundaries are important, but life is never a limitation of hope or possibilities.
We have to keep in mind when our children are young and depend on us, we are our children’s hope, great strength, motivator, protector, and so much more. At that point in time, it is critical, because it can make or break their confidence, self-esteem, strength, fears, happiness, and sadness.
We do not want our children to start off at an early age where their confidence is shot down because we didn’t listen. We don’t want them to underestimate themselves by thinking less of themselves because their self- esteem has accumulated so much doubt from their early days.
We do not want them to think the only way to gain strength is to be hurt, in pain, and alone. We do not want them to live in fear because they think there is no such thing as hope. We do not want them to think happiness comes just by pleasing others and neglecting themselves.
We do not want them to tip the scale and think sadness is a one-way street that leads to suicide, by only thinking negative thoughts and not having a purpose to live.
The foundation of youth starts with us as the parents, guardians, teachers, school administrators, higher authorities, and so many more people in the community. It will build inner strength within our children if they see that we care by our actions — listening and being there for them when the battle is too hard for them to fight alone.
We have to be their voice because when they are young, we are molding them to become great people. Once they see their voices matter and deserve to be heard, that develops confidence, balance, personal growth, and self-love within themselves.
When my sons told me about them being bullied, I immediately took charge. I asked them if they spoke with their teachers. They assured me they did on several occasions. However, they weren’t happy with the results. I went in full force in a respectful way, to get down to solving the problem.
When my daughter knew she was being mistreated on several occasions, I stepped up to the plate because I wasn’t going to let what she encountered be ignored.
Once a parent lets their children’s problems sink in the sand, they will not have confidence in us and will seek help elsewhere; and who knows where?
I believe for every problem there is a solution. It is a matter of how far we are willing to go. Sacrificing time will have its highs and lows, up and downs. It will be difficult, but we will be reclaiming our children’s entitlement to a happy life.
It will be well worth it. We will gain energy from creating what the higher authorities thought was nothing and not important, and turning it into something, especially when they feel our point of view is irrelevant. They will fuel our fire with nonsense, excuses, and lies — which is exactly what we need to fight the battle our children are fighting every single day. Therefore, we must not hesitate to obtain justice for our children.
I am the type of person who, if I know there’s something that can be done, I will get it done, regardless of how hard it gets or what I have to go through. I know the harder I work, the better the results will be in my favor.
When it comes to my children, if they feel that they are being treated unfairly and they are unhappy, then that’s a problem. Believe me, there are no ifs, ands, or butts about it — I do not want to hear any excuses — I want and will see results!
When my children see how hard I will fight for them, it builds their confidence, and they know without a doubt Momma is going to solve the problem. After they see the problem has been taken care of, they are so happy and appreciate me making their lives and their days a lot better. They are able to breathe, let go, and release. A child’s concern shouldn’t go unnoticed, it should be brought into the light and nipped in the bud the first time around. We shouldn’t ever be too busy nor should we procrastinate when our children are asking for our help, or if their actions are speaking louder than their words.
Our children’s confidence should be sky-high, and they should travel effortlessly without the silent killer putting negative thoughts and fear in their minds. They should know their parents are winds of change because we gather their needs and turn them into strength, courage, and wisdom as they develop patiently while the transformation is taking place.
Our children should have the courage and be able to fly fearlessly with keen eyesight because they know without a doubt their parents and guardians will take care of what is too much for them to bear. They have an advantage — we are their caretakers; therefore, they should spread their wings, take flight, and reach above the clouds where dreams do come true.
Our children have a purpose in life, and what beautiful lives they have ahead of them, filled with prosperity and abundance.
They shouldn’t smile through the pain or fuel their sadness, because the silent killer is stealing their joy. Instead, they should have freedom — that is filled with peace and balance in their lives.
We should take time to think and analyze. As parents and guardians, we shouldn’t take any shortcuts. We have to look at our children’s situation from every angle.
When the challenge is hard because the higher authorities are ignoring us too, we should never give up. Our load might become heavy but our children are a part of us; they are a reflection of us; and we want our children to know and feel they are safe, loved, and wanted.
The higher authorities always speak of change, changing for the better, yet most of the time they do not practice what they preach. We all can make room for change; we all can make room for improvement because one shouldn’t have to handle anything alone.
When all hope is gone, we have to let our children know why they are here, and why they are alive. We have to reassure them that lies can’t live forever. We have to show them that their voices are powerful and they should never be afraid to speak up and speak their truth.
One thing’s for sure, as parents and guardians we have to be cautious about what we hear and see. When fighting for our children we have to keep in mind that other people will try their hardest to make us give in. They are going to treat our children unfairly in the process. They will become uncaring, and try to shut us down mentally, physically, and emotionally. Furthermore, they will try to block us and shut every door to hide the truth. Little do they know, regardless of what they have in mind, justice will prevail because we are not giving up!
They will pull out every tactic there is to use. However, we must put up a good fight. We must refuse to shut down. They can try to take it all, but one thing they cannot take from us is our voice. They will try to silence our children and keep them in darkness. What they fail to realize is that our children are a part of us, and when we all come together as one, we will have a mighty roar that will be unstoppable and finally heard.
