Vanessa and Tyler are waiting for Keith to return.
"Tyler, your dad and I are very disappointed. We expect you to always do your best, and right now you aren't doing that." (Vanessa)
"Okay, so where were we?" (Keith)
"Honey, is that really necessary?" (Vanessa)
"I want to have it nearby just in case." (Keith)
"So Tyler, why are you missing homework assignments, and why are your grades slipping?" (Vanessa)
"Mom, I can't tell you?" (Tyler)
"What do you mean you can't tell us? You better start talking." (Keith)
"I don't want anything to happen to you." (Tyler)
"Look at us when you are talking. You aren't making any sense and I'm starting to lose my patience." (Keith)
"They said if I tell, they would hurt me and my family." (Tyler)
"Who is they?" (Vanessa)
"The boys at school. They keep taking my book bag and tearing up my papers." (Tyler)
"What?! Are these boys in your class?" (Vanessa)
"No, they are in the 5th grade." (Tyler)
"5th graders! Why are they picking on 3rd graders?" (Vanessa)
"Son, why didn't you tell us or your teacher?" (Keith)
"Because they said if I told they would do something bad to my family." (Tyler)
"Can you believe this? What is wrong with these kids? Why can"t they just go to school and get an education? No, that would be too simple." (Vanessa)
"Come here, sweetie." (Vanessa)
"I'm sorry this is happening to you. We are going to get to the bottom of this and put a stop to it." (Vanessa)
"Tyler, in the future you need to tell us if something like this is going on. Okay?" (Keith)
"Okay." (Tyler)
"Give me a hug and go get ready for bed. We will talk about this more tomorrow and Monday morning I'm going to your school to get to the bottom of this." (Vanessa)
"Goodnight. I love you." (Vanessa)
"I love you, too, Mommy." (Tyler)
"Good night, son. And remember, it's my job to protect you. It's not your job to protect us." (Keith)
"Okay, Dad." (Tyler)
Tyler heads to his room, feeling relieved.
"Can you believe that? I am so sick of the whole bullying thing. Just last week a 12 yr old committed suicide because two of her classmates were bullying her. The parents took her out of school, and they were still harassing her on Facebook. And now some crazy kids are harassing my son! I don't think so." (Vanessa)
"Calm down and come over here." (Keith)
"I don't want to calm down. I want to ring somebody's neck." (Vanessa)
Keith pulls Vanessa into his arms.
"Relax. Kids get picked on all the time. This is nothing new" (Keith)
"Honey, we can't take this lightly." (Vanessa)
"I know, but the last thing we need is you going and jacking up somebody else's child. We need to handle this like responsible adults." (Keith)
"Damn hoodlums." (Vanessa)
All Keith can think of is thank goodness Monday is two days away. Hopefully by then his wife will have calmed down.
Whoosh! And the mama bear has awakened! I'm looking forward to see how things get dealt with. I doubt that rage will be quenched over the weekend.
ReplyDeleteVerona - Yes, mama bear is pretty ticked off, as she should be, Regardless of what happens over the weekend, I know mama bear will be raring to go on Monday.
DeleteWOW! This is one of my biggest fears, especially with my daughter having delays. I'm sorry but I'm with Vanessa. I'll talk to the parents, only once which is exactly the amount of times they have to get their kid(s) in order. If this continued, I'd be Rebecca De Mornay in Hand That Rocks The Cradle and will straight snatch a kid. Things go on for too long and that poor little girl...it should have never gone that far. My daughter will not Tweet, Facebook, Myspace, You Tube or any of those mindless things because they're just a waste of time and another opportunity for cowards to be cowards. This one definitely tugged at my heart strings. Great story, Vanessa.
ReplyDeleteTracy - You know bullying is a big problem when the Hip Hop community is taking it on as a project. I can you see you snatching a kid! I can see Vanessa snatching a kid, too. Luckily Keith is there to remind her how terribly wrong that could go. It's usually the parent who stands up for their kid, that gets in trouble. It's all so unfair.
DeleteI got really sad as I was doing this story, because I was reminded about the hard time my youngest stepson had all through school. He was teased constantly, and he was always sad. I hope your daughter doesn't experience any such thing. If she does, I'm sure you will handle it!
Awww, poor Tyler! I'm glad that he has loving parents to help him deal with this situation. I have to admit though, I laughed out loud when Keith came in with the belt (sorry Tyler).
ReplyDeleteRoxanne - Girl, that belt was fresh out the Barbie Basic pack. I totally forgot I had it, but Keith reminded me that I had it. lol. I'm sure glad he didn't have to use it.
DeletePoor Tylor! Kids can be so cruel and mean sometimes! I understand Vanessa feelings pretty good,it's natural that she would fight for her family.
ReplyDeleteI want to ask about one thing. Is corporal punishment legal/often used in US? In Poland it's prohibited and could lead to deprivation of parental rights. I think in US it's different ?
jewel snake - The bullying over here has gotten so bad. We are always hearing about some kid that committed suicide because they were bullied. The story of the 12 yr old girl Vanessa recited, is true. It happened a few weeks ago. Two 12 yr old girls were arrested and charged.
DeleteHere in the states, corporal punishment is allowed,. I think it's good to find alternatives when possible, but sometimes it's the only thing a child will respond to.
Que mal que le haya ocurrido algo asi a Tyler, que bueno que ha podido sincerarse con sus padres, seguro esto se arreglara, calma, calma.
ReplyDeletelindaivette - Lo sé. Pobre Tyler. Estoy seguro de que sus padres van a llegar al fondo de la misma.
DeleteI enjoyed the story. It's was emotional for me as well. My nephew experienced a bullying incident. I consider myself a very level headed adult but I instantly snapped to hot head mode when I heard about it! I have rarely let myself get that mad in over 20 years. This bullying thing is awful. Yes there were.bullies when I was growing up. However, technology and social media make it so much more devestating.
ReplyDeleteMy nephew assured me that he was handling it. A few weeks later he had joined the football team and had lots of back up! Lol
veda - I'm so sorry your nephew had to go through something like this. The bullying today is very different. It's hard to protect the kids from all the craziness. It's a good thing your nephew opened up about it. Glad to hear he's okay.
DeleteBardzo podobał mi się ten post. Zwłaszcza zdanie, że to zadaniem rodziców jest chronienie dzieci, a nie odwrotnie. Prześladowcy często groża rodzinie dziecka... a ono musi mieć pewność, że rodzice są silni i będą je chronić... wtedy im powie o problemie. A pas jest OK. W ostateczność oczywiście. To moje zdanie. Moja mama go czasem uzywała i wyrosłam na porządnego człowieka... czasem byłam naprawde nieznośna ;)
ReplyDeleteciocia Lusia - Dziękujemy bardzo za wasze komentarze. Tyler jest bardzo szczęśliwy, że dwóch silnych rodziców, że będzie dotrzeć do sedna tego. Zgadzam się, pas powinien być ostatecznością. Cieszę się, że Keith nie trzeba go używać.
DeleteThank you Vanessa to make this story. Bullying is a huge problem in society today and it sems to not be going away. I think that tylers parents are loving and caring people and i have a feeling that the school is going to be getting a phone call or a visit soon. Well done
ReplyDeletewilliam - You are welcome. It's a serious subject and getting worse all the time. Vanessa will definitely be at that school on Monday morning.
DeletePoor kid! Bullying is getting worse everyday, but I really think that goingo to school in the USA must be a real adventure!
ReplyDeleteV. - LOL about school being an adventure. You are right about that. Sometimes it's a very scary adventure.
DeletePoor Tyler! Carrying the burden of fear that something bad would happen to his family if he said anything must've caused him a lot of stress and sleepless nights. That's a lot for a 3rd grader to deal with. If he was my son, I'd want to go and find those 5th grade bullies and give them some old fashioned discipline! Seems bullying is getting worse, and social media certainly isn't helping...
ReplyDeleteCindi - Poor Tyler was so stressed, he couldn't concentrate on his school work. I'm sure he's still a little worried. Hopefully his parents get to the bottom of it quickly. She may have to take him out of school for a few days until it blows over.
DeleteAwww dang Vanessa - now I'm about the cry!
ReplyDeleteKenya - I'm sorry. Hopefully Christopher never has to experience any bullying. It is getting so out of hand.
DeleteIt really is. I can't stand it - I hate it exists.
DeleteOh dear poor Tyler?! If my younger dollie self was there she would help Tyler out and scare the boys back?! Neither me or my dollie self takes lightly to bulling! >:C
ReplyDeleteforgot to mention my younger dollie self is a fifth grader like the bullies and watches old crunch workout videos since her mom cant bring her to the park all the time.
DeleteLeandra - I'm sure Tyler would love to have some backup. I'm not sure how he would feel about getting backup from a girl. You know how fragile those egos are, even at his age. LOL!
Deletewhoops! forgot about that. ^^;; what if she disguised herself as a guy or dressed like a ninja? xD
DeleteLeandra - Did you ever watch the show, Eve? I watched the episode two days ago when Eve punched out this guy who was getting ready to fight her boyfriend, JT. JT didn't speak to her for days because he was so upset. All his friends were teasing him about it. I guess if she kept the Ninja mask on, it might work.
DeleteNever watched Eve though now i kinda get your point. Maybe Tyler should join a self defense class
DeleteThis is a hard story! I've been there. How the parents handle it will make all the difference. The teacher should be informed and kept in the loop. Sadly, bulling doesn't stop with childhood. I've seen people bullied at work too! Even as adults, people have a hard time handling it!
ReplyDeleteMs. Leo - I'm sorry to hear that you've experienced this. I was bullied by three sisters. I just thought about that. They hated me and I never really understood why. Funny that I just thought about that.
DeleteLast year my daughter was being bullied (3rd grade), sad to say I was like Vanessa, I got Hot! Too hot, she didn't want me to go up to the school, she asked her dad to go. Guy that I worked with said his daughter asked him to do the same, he said they don't want us (women) to go because, we go "mama bear".
ReplyDeleteSylvie - Wow, sorry to hear that about your daughter. Hope she's okay now. Mama bears can get quite emotional and all decorum goes out the window. I will let Vanessa know that she needs to keep it together. Thanks for your comments!
Delete"Don't make me hafta act the fool!," Was my mother's standard response to just about any situation where someone was messing with her kids. To be fair though we were all a bunch of hellions so we did not get messed with a lot.
ReplyDeleteWhen Keith came around the corner with that belt it was like deja vu! Harkening to Jewel Snakes punishment question, even though it's still used, times have changed somewhat. In my day, you could spank a kid up and down the street, in the store, on the playground, wherever. You try that now and you'll get arrested or CPS at your house.
I will say that spankings and the like did not have the effect intended on me. We would get spanked with belts, rulers, paddles, tree switches and the occasional thrown shoe. All it did was make me dislike my mother for a good day and a half. It did not however, curb the activity that made me get a spanking in the first place. Instead, it just made me sneakier in my shenanigans so I wouldn't get caught ... and it gave me a high tolerance for pain.
Muff - LOL! Your mother's saying instantly took me to "Y'all gonna make me lose my mind, up in here, up in here. Y'all gonna make act a fool, up in here, up in here." Whew, too funny.
DeleteWe lived on an alley with switches available 24/7. LOL! I can still remember the stinging. I only got a few spankings. That's all I needed to not do the craziness again. It usually involved talking back to my mother. After a couple of slaps, I didn't do that again. FYI, you are supposed to be sneaky with your shenanigans. That's your job, especially as a teenager. lol!
I was the favourite object of bullism at school
ReplyDeleteSergio - I'm so sorry to hear that! You didn't deserve that.
DeleteBullying seems to be an issue all over the world. In Australia, there are lots of programs to teach kids how to deal with it and to help parents and teachers. But having supportive parents and teachers always helps so I'm sure Tyler will get through it.
ReplyDeleteCarrickters - Wow, you guys have programs? We don't have a lot of organized programs. Do they also teach kids how not to bully others? I'm hoping Tyler can get through this unscathed.
DeleteThere are some programs that work with bullies but they tend to be programs that focus either on building self-esteem or how to support each other by standing up together against bullies. There are also a number of website - some run by kids themselves- to talk about dealing with the problem.
DeleteI'm glad you brought this issue up among your doll families. It's a tough one. It's been around forever but it seems much worse these days since we have the internet. I was maliciously bullied in high school and I can tell you it has made me such a better, stronger person but not without a lot of depression and suicide attempts. I hope my kids will never have to go through this!
ReplyDeleteVita Plastica - Wow, I'm so sorry to hear that you were bullied. It seems to be such a common theme. People get bullied for just about everything. Being too pretty. Being not pretty. Being too smart. Not being smart enough. EVERYTHING! Hopefully the seriousness of it and the increase of suicides because of it, will cause everyone to take it more serious. I'm awfully glad you are still here with us.
DeleteFirst, I laughed when Keith came in with his arsenal. Then something tugged at my belly when Tyler confessed. Wow! I am glad he has parents who are present in his life and care. Also glad he has such a caring teacher. I am sure things will be resolved.
ReplyDeleteGrandmommy - Keith was ready. I wonder if he cracked his knuckles while he was in the back. lol. Let's hope his caring parents can put a stop to this. Sometimes even having caring parents isn't enough to stop the madness.
DeleteHow awful. Poor Tyler. I know Vanessa will get to the bottom of the situation swiftly.
ReplyDeleteIn reality, situations like this happen far too often these days. What has caused the increase in children bullying others -- too much exposure to violence in the media and in the home? I would hate to have school-age children, but I do have school-age grandsons. Thank God, nothing like this has happened to them. Just this past weekend I told my older grandson (since he has become extremely quiet of late) that if he ever has a problem, he can talk to his granny. He said he was fine. His solitude might be caused by his hormonal phase, playing football and soccer, and curricular demands. While here this weekend, all he did was homework.
Children are placed under too much pressure and need to be allowed to live out their childhood years in peace.
dbg
DBG - We have become very desensitized to the violence we see on tv. You are probably right about there being a correlation to what we see on tv to what is happening in real life. That's good you recognized that your grandson was quieter than normal. I'm sure he appreciates you offering an ear.
DeleteThat last sentence is so true!
Poor Tyler, it´s a pity to see these things nowadays but unfortunately children often are bad with others classmates. He has good luck for having parents who help him with this big problem. I hope everything be fine in the future ;)
ReplyDeleteAna - Bullying is happening more and more. It's so heartbreaking especially for the kid who doesn't see a way out.
Delete