A woman came away deeply moved by the ripple effect bullying has after she encountered a distressed mother on a beach, who had just learned that her teenage son was planning on bullying a classmate.
A chance encounter
Laura was enjoying a beach outing with her kids in Mount Martha, a seaside suburb of Melbourne down the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia, when she came across a woman in tears.Laura asked her why she was crying, and she said she had just discovered her 15-year-old son was plotting a humiliating attack on another student. She was so upset by this that she had had to step away for a walk alone.
Laura gave the woman a hug.
“I felt like it was a bit of fate,” Laura told The Epoch Times. “I’m a social worker, and I love working with children and teens as well as mothers to help them feel more confident in their family relationships. I think the universe put her in my path so that I could reassure her.”
The woman had found texts of plans to humiliate a kid that her child and friends had been bullying. “I think feeling overwhelmed by having a child who did that, and then having to discipline that child, made her feel emotional,” she added.
The distressed mother had grounded her son, confiscated his cell phone, and placed a temporary ban on sports, socializing, and social media. She had also instructed her son to confess the scheme to his school principal and face the consequences.
Everyone’s responsibility
Laura pondered that her own approach to diffusing a potential bullying scenario might be slightly different.“I don’t know if I would do the same because I’m a very sensitive soul and I worry about humiliating,” Laura reflected, adding that she grew up with an abusive father and was raised in a “pretty terrible” home environment.
“I’ve made it my mission to be a very gentle and responsive parent,” she explained, “but I also think what [the mother] has done will make an incredible impact for all.”
Laura believes it’s everyone’s responsibility to quell bullying when they see it but that parents and teachers bear most of the responsibility.
Impacts of bullying
Bullying is particularly prolific among school-aged adolescents.Incidents of bullying appeared to have a strong and lasting impact upon students’ confidence and self-esteem, the report showed. Moreover, 41 percent of bullied students believed they would be bullied repeatedly, yet fewer than half had informed an adult in a position of authority.
The impacts of bullying are also compounded through technology: text messaging, social media, etc., otherwise known as cyberbullying.
Having a positive impact
Laura hopes that sharing her encounter with a stranger on a beach will further raise awareness of how imperative it is to understand bullying and intervene when incidents arise.We would love to hear your stories! You can share them with us at [email protected]