I AM writing to make a passionate plea on behalf of children whose lives are blighted and in some cases destroyed by bullying.
Attending school can be a never-ending nightmare for some children. As a parent and grandparent, I have been confronted with the horror of this daily abuse in the classrooms and playgrounds, places where we have a right to expect our children will be safe.
But, in some instances, children are humiliated and terrorised on a daily basis by fellow pupils. They are threatened, taunted, and beaten up. And more often than not, they are too afraid to either defend themselves or to name their tormentors.
As a result of this bullying, they suffer in a variety of ways, ranging from frustration, social isolation and loss of self-esteem to drastic personality changes, ill-ness, depression and, the ultimate tragedy: suicide.
They lose motivation, are fearful and anxious about going to school, or may suffer stomach or bowel disorders, panic attacks, depression, unnatural mood swings, or nervous breakdowns. Some pupils resort to substance abuse and end up as drug addicts.
There is a desperate need to tackle this horror in our midst. I appeal to any parent who has knowledge of such situations to make vigorous complaints to the school authorities.
And parents of bullies have a moral duty to check this behaviour on the part of their children, because bullies need help, and possibly counselling, as much as their victims.
If their parents fail to reprimand their behaviour, they are sending out the wrong signal: that it’s okay to bully other children.
The great scandal is that quite a few people, whether in a school itself, or in the wider community, may know that bullying is going on, and who the victims are, and choose to remain silent about it. So the bullying continues until the victim reaches breaking point and just can’t take any more punishment.
I would like to see awareness programmes in all primary and secondary schools aimed at tackling this dreadful and widespread abuse of children. Teachers need to be alert to the problem, and encourage classes to freely discuss bullying.
We owe it to ourselves and most of all to our children to stamp out bullying in our schools.
Concerned Grandparent
Name and address withheld on request
