Mother teaches her son a drastic lesson for being a bully
An American mother has come under fire for making her son wear a t-shirt with the caption, "I am a Bully", as an apology to all the children he bullied at school.
It’s a topic many people talk about, we’ve spoken about it before, yet still, bullying continues around the world. It is also not isolated to schools, the working world is certainly not free of bullying, I assure you, and let's not forget cyberbullying.
Listen: MTV Base's Kim Jayde shares how she was bullied as a teen
Star, a mother from Texas, United States of America has been thrown into the spotlight after forcing her 11-year-old son to wear a t-shirt to school saying ‘I am a bully’. This after his teachers complained that he called classmates ‘stupid idiots’.
I wanted to do something that would teach him why he can’t do those things, why he needs to take other people in consideration.
While many people have slammed the mom for being ‘cruel’ and ‘heartless’, others supported her by saying what she’s done is 100% right. A child psychiatrist has disagreed, saying it would do more harm than good, possibly embarrassing the child.
Read: KZN Education says probe ongoing into bullying claims at Chatsworth school
I can not say that I was ever beaten up in school, but the emotional abuse was most certainly there. I wasn’t the biggest kid on the playground, I wasn’t the best at sport, and because I wasn’t the coolest kid either I remember the bigger, more popular kids would surround me and call me names.
Calling someone a ‘stupid idiot’ is emotional abuse, in my opinion, could be just as harmful as physical abuse.
Emotional bullying can take the form of;
- Name-call, tease or mock
- Using sarcasm
- Threaten
- Put-down or belittle
- Ignore or exclude from a group
- Lie
- Torment
- Gang up on others
- Humiliate others
These traits have been known to have a harmful effect on a person's mental health. Victims often feel shame, guilt, embarrassment, and fear, which can lead to depression, low self-esteem, suicide attempts, and countless other mental health issues.
So I ask you, was this mom's action justified, or was this a parenting fail?
Read: Fighting cyber bullies with self-love and confidence
It is up to every one of us to stand up to bullies by doing whatever you need to do to make them understand they need help and you won’t put up with them or the way they treat people.
Let me know if you think this mother's actions were warranted or too harsh by leaving your comments below.