I have had many teenagers and children talk about being bullied at school. I have seen them cry and talk about how bad their lives are because of the bullying. Sometimes they even talk about killing themselves. This is really hard to hear a child at 10 years old saying their life is so bad due to the bullying that they want to kill themselves.
I offer to help and often the kids say there is no point – no one will help. The sad thing is many times the children are right. I tell the parents who contact the school, but the school does nothing. Often the school doesn’t take it seriously or they claim both children are at fault. Other times they talk to the bully which makes the bully mad and the bullying increases. The problem is the school never follows up on what happens after they spoke to the bully. They assume the problem is solved.
If the parents go back to the school the school often claims they have done all they can do. We encourage the child to tell the teacher, the yard duty or the principal about the bullying. An adult is supposed to help. However, many times the child claims he is ignored and no one listens to him.
What can happen at this point? The child becomes so depressed they think of suicide. They feel death is better than the teasing they have to endure daily. We need to remember that suicide is the third leading cause of death for children. So when a child talks about suicide, they often are serious. This is why we must act to stop bullying.
Read a suicide note from a 13 year old boy who could no longer tolerate the bullying he was experiencing. Read it and learn what bullying can do to a person & why it must be stopped. The life you save might be the life of your own child, you never know. http://nypost.com/2016/08/13/staten-island-boy-takes-his-own-life-after-ripping-school-bullies-in-suicide-note/
Dr. Michael Rubino specializes in treating children and teenagers. He has over 19 years experience and is considered an expert in treating suicidal children and teens. For more information about Dr. Rubino’s work and private practice visit his website at http://www.rcs-ca.com or his Facebook page http://www.Facebook.com/drrubino3
Dr Michael Rubinio 