Seriously. I am having a hard time with this right now. I am still in shock and want to cuddle my Daughter closer as we have had a rough night. My Daughter was outside jumping on her trampoline when we heard her screams/cries. My Husband was closest to the door and ran out -- and I was on his heals. We got outside to find our Daughter running in circles within the trampoline hysterically crying. She unzipped the trampoline enclosure and jumped into my husband's arms. What happened? She had been playing with 2 other children (one is one year older, the other one year younger). Nobody was talking - my Daughter was hysterical and could not talk. We got her inside and we continued to cuddle her and reassure her that she was safe. Why wasn't she talking? Backtrack a few years. She was deaf for a period of time and has had to play 'catch up' with her speech/communication. When she is upset, she either says nothing, or she repeats what is being said to her. We understand this; others do not. One of the children was brought inside and was asked what happened. It turns out the older one was teasing her -- bullying her. He claimed that the younger one was saying 'worse stuff.' So that made it okay for you? The younger one was then brought in and explained that they were teasing our Daughter by taunting her (over and over) that she had boy hair. For me, or you, this would seem silly. For a 5-year-old little Girl, it was devastating. I could not talk - I sat back and kept cuddling my Daughter. My Husband, who is my voice of reason, calmly asked the younger child, 'How would you like it if I called you a Girl? Should I get you a dress?' and the child got extremely mad, gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. The behavior exhibited by both of these kids made me (and still makes me) sick. THESE two children are the reason that I am home-schooling my child. I often hear that kids need to develop a 'thick skin' because that (teasing/taunting) is part of life. What in the hell kind of life are you talking about? Are you suggesting that I should send my child someplace where she can get teased/threatened because that's how life is? How can we, as human beings, endorse this? I don't. I am homeschooling my Daughter to provide her with the very best education that not only meets her needs, but nurtures her and help to create a loving human being that will contribute to this world. I know that many schools have anti-bullying policies in place -- but, let me tell you, it's not working. I saw what two little children did tonight - and I can honestly say, You are doing it WRONG. By the way - those 2 children were her COUSINS.
