Bullying Will Never End...Reaction is Action!

                 School is beginning for everyone and it’s a hustle for those are getting ready. School supplies, clothes, schedules, and stress in many cases. Lots to do and lots to think about for parents and kids. One of the things parents with an autistic child have to worry about is bullies, and this is not just something a parent of autism thinks about. With all the end bullying campaigns and public awareness on how to deal with it, it is still very real and never ending. There will always be the nature of the beast in school or the adult world.

                We see so much on YouTube, facebook, and the news on a daily basis about someone being treated horribly. More often than not it’s on video because someone felt it was a better idea to record than step in and help. I can’t say back before all this technology is was any better but it does seem like it has just gotten worse as far as empathy for others in this crazy world. Younger generations are failing to relate to each other on a human level and seem to find more entertainment in watching others being hurt than they do helping someone. There is fear in standing up against a group of bullies and sometimes ignoring it is a survival instinct. An understandable survival instinct but we have to teach our kids it’s not just about survival.

                It’s about living and living right. The impact we can have on one person just by stepping up and giving them a little more strength when they are already being broken is huge. Bullies typically work in strength by numbers there is no reason why anyone should have to tolerate it standing alone. One life can be touched in an amazing way just by feeling what they might be feeling and letting them know the numbers can work in their favor to. Standing up for someone doesn’t always have to be a verbal act or taking on a crowd in the name of kindness. It can be a simple act of sitting next to someone or sparking up a conversation to distract the situation. Trying to set some of kind of example as a human being that others can see and one day learn from.  Teaching our kids one day the social rankings that apply in school end when life begins and acts of kindness can actually be carried with you all through life. With an impact that will last long after their school years are over.

                This doesn’t just apply to autism because we all know the social challenges kids with autism face on a daily basis, this applies to every person on the planet. If you don’t know how to talk to your kids about bullies have them read this before the school year begins and remind them popularity ends and humanity continues on. It’s a choice to be kind and leave a mark in someones life they won’t forget or even just help them feel people care simply because they can. Bullying will never end and it’s a reality for all kids and adults. We can’t control that but we can control how we react. Reaction is a powerful way to take action and it may be a risk but a risk to be proud of.