Today was a bad day.

Today was a Bad Day!

I got a call just before lunch telling me my child with ADHD and ASD was exhausted and needed to be picked up from school.

Why was he tired?

Did he get enough sleep?
Yes!
Is he unwell?
No!

There is many types of tiredness, and as a parent it was very easy to see his tiredness was not physical, but it was emotional.

He was tired because of another child that hasn’t learnt how to be kind, hasn’t learned empathy instead they have learnt how to be a bully.

After months of being subtly targeted with cruel words, with rough play this week it became more brazen.

One day, His pants where pulled down.
Then today he was slapped across the face, the child ran up to him slapped him and ran away, payback for telling the teacher about the previous incident.

He went to his safe place but his teacher wasn’t there so he lay on the cold concrete, emotionally spent.

So of course he is exhausted.

How can a young child deal with a bully day in day out and not be exhausted.

How can it be his responsibility to manage his emotions, deal with nasty words, be physically hurt and not respond, and not bottle it all in.

And as Parents, teachers, adults what are we doing about it?

Why is it his problem? Why is he the one going home as he is exhausted?

Why is he missing classes, why is he trying to learn how to be nice, how to be kind, how to win the friendship game, and the bullies get away with it.

If we don’t deal with the behaviours now at ten, what happens when they are teenagers and social media comes into play and instead of the bullying being done in front of a small crowd it becomes a viral incident.

Whose responsibility is it?

 Is it overworked teachers, juggling dozens of children, each with their own individual needs? Is it parents already struggling juggling the pressures of life? Do the parents even know what there children are doing to others? The pain and suffering they are causing?
Is it the children responsibility or as a society are we failing them, by not teaching them to be kind!

All I know is that something needs to change!

We need to start the conversation now! We need to make changes now!