Look After Your Children

This is my rant. Yes, I am a mother and I understand how overwhelming and stressful it can be to entrain children full of beans. However, my experience the other day in soft play really buggered me off.

A little boy was playing, as they do, showing off his little kiddy moves when kicking a ball. I was in awe of his confidence and charisma he was a charming lad to start with. Then the child was under some illusion that no other children should be kicking the ball. "Get off it," he shouted.

"You really should tell your child to share, the other boys want to play," I told his father. The child was clearly controlling his adult, fully grown man-child of a parent. Dictating to him what he is doing while his father pleaded like a little child for his four-year-old to listen to him. It was embarrassing and awkward to watch.

Forwarding on 10 minutes, my son and I went over to the soft play area and the same child not was there. During a conversation with another parent, I saw from the corner of my eye the child slap a little girl and she walked off calmly to play somewhere else. The poor girl did not even tell her mother at that point. She assumed that is the bully says, she must do.

Disgusted we converse about this child and his behaviour. Both parents are sitting with their friends in the cafe area, allowing their small child to play unsupervised. These parents know that their child is a little hyperactive and undisciplined. They should not allow other children to be victims of their bullying and parents to have to confront them for their child ill manners.

Bullying is a serious issue and it needs to be taught to children at a very young age—what is the appropriate way to behave in public. As many as one-third of bullying victims never tell any adults about their victimisation or only discuss it years later. Primary reasons why children refuse to report bullying they fear it will lead to the abuse becoming more severe.

Bullying has severe consequences such as: The victim may develop mental health issues like depression and anxiety, have fewer friendships this can lead to them not being accepted by their peers. Bullied children can become wary and suspicious of others feeling scared in social situations causing them to have problems adjusting to school.

When boisterous behaviour goes unchallenged by parents or carers, this will encourage and enable the bullying to continue. Children will be children and they don't always like taking turns or sharing. However, the line between children being children and out right making another child have an unpleasant experience and reducing them to tears by hitting and shouting unreasonably should be challenged by parents and carers the moment it happens.

Bullying in schools is a widespread phenomenon that has been largely ignored by many. It is often a covert problem, but once it is put into the context of social interaction, schools can respond to it in productive ways. A multi-factorial response is best, and prevention is far better than crisis management. One of the most effective preventive measures is team response by all teachers to ensure a two-fold response. Bullying must stop and firm action must be taken to ensure the safety of the victim. Then the social behaviour of the bully and the victim must be analysed and changed.

As adults we would not like for any stranger, work colleague, or someone we have a personal relationship to, make us feel weak and vulnerable by hitting, name calling, or excluding. Therefore, is it fair that this is expected of children, little people who can barely contain their own emotions without support.

I for one will not tolerate my innocent child being bullied by another child and that bullying going unchallenged by their parents or careers, school teachers or who ever in a position of responsibility of the child. I also will not allow my own child to be the tormentor.