Fatima Williams

My son was bullied in school last year. The ‘cool’ kids harassed him in the classroom. And wouldn’t let him play sports at recess. We noticed how much he hated going to school every day. After months of being bullied he finally broke down and told me what was going on. I was bullied as a kid too, so I knew how it felt. My heart was broken for the little guy. I took it seriously. I sat in his bed until late that night giving him perspective and tools. He went to school the next day armed for battle, but our plan backfired. He was crushed again. He wanted to give in. Maybe change classes. I told him not to give up. We went back to the drawing board. The day after he managed to turn it all around. He stood up for himself and showed the bullies he’s not to be messed with a respectful way. He was invited to play! He ended up becoming one of the best players in the school. 💪 Fast forward… Yesterday my son was playing soccer. And a boy tried to play. The kids wouldn’t let him in. A few years back they gave this boy a nasty nickname and he’s been sidelined ever since. Yesterday on the court, my son also called him the mean nickname. He saw how much it hurt the boy. He remembered his hurtful it was when we was bullied. He came home from Synagogue and told me what happened. He felt terrible. I told him the right thing to do was to call to say sorry. He didn’t want. He was to shy and embarrassed. I called the boys father anyways. He told me that his son is having a rough year because of the bullying. My son heard every word. His father passed the phone to his boy. I put my son on the line. “I’m sorry I called you that name. From now on I’ll make sure that nobody bothers you .” My son said. The boy responded “thank you Menachem.” My son said “can we be friends?” I heard the boy chocking up and struggling to answer. Finally he said in a teary voice… “Yes”. Lesson learned, bullying is serious. We as parents have to be just as concerned about other kids feelings as we are about our own kids. We have to turn our children into leaders and defenders instead of bystanders. I subscribe to the hands on parenting method. How about you?