Teens, Challenges at School and Verbal Warfare
Yesterday afternoon one of my boys came home from school feeling quite depressed. According to him, he’d endured a day of rejection, humiliation, teasing and isolation. Can you even imagine experiencing all that in a single day and at the age of 14?
According to my son, a girl at school began picking on him saying things like “he’s going to end up having to turn gay because there won’t be any girls wanting to go out with him, ever.” And she went on to other kids saying horrible things resulting in other kids avoiding him like the plague.
Of course I don’t think the girl talking to the other kids had much to do with them not socializing with him, I think it was just a bad day and the kids were obviously busy with other things. I can’t imagine one girl having that much influence.
Regardless, my son shared a website that the entire 8th grade science class is participating in. On that website, he was able to show me the girl that was causing him such grief by spewing such horrible things.
The girl was at least three times as wide as my son and looked like a WWF Wrestler undergoing a sex change.
Perhaps I’m wrong to arm my son with some retaliatory comebacks as a means to enter into and defend himself in verbal warfare, but I did.
Some of the things I told him he could store in his memory for the perfect time are:
Of course the fact that she looks like a WWF tranny was one of them.
Another is to let her know that the only reason he’d ever have for considering turning gay would be if she were the last female left on earth. Then he’d have no choice in the matter. After all, she’s likely the blame for half the gay men in our county.
** Note: when you’re a 14 year old in school, being criticized for sexual preference is the norm. it’s best to arm yourself for the verbal confrontation then to attempt to take a politically correct approach.**
Perhaps I’m wrong in doing so, but I’d much rather arm my children with the fighting words to stand up for themselves then to take the old fashioned approach by filling their heads with stories of the other kid being jealous or having a crush on him.
I was one of those kids who was told to look the other way and ignore them so I know ignoring them is not an option.
I’d rather kids learn to think twice before they go picking on my kids!
Tags: teens, bullies, depression, rejection, teasing, verbal warfare
3 opinions for Teens, Challenges at School and Verbal Warfare
Angela
Aug 30, 2007 at 3:21 pm
I am so glad that my daughter does NOT have to endure middle school OR junior high. If you can just make it through to the 9th grade your kids will be home free.
Kids at that age don’t know anything about being PC so I believe arming them with come backs is appropriate. It’s kind of like the “Yo Mamma” show on MTV, eh? There isn’t a thing wrong with that!
Teaching Tweens and Teens How to Break the Ice
Aug 31, 2007 at 10:41 am
[...] SuperNanny Rules author Gayla is dealing with some similar issues with her kids - Teens, Challenges at School and Verbal Warfare [...]
Jessica
Feb 20, 2008 at 6:30 pm
That is a great oppinion. I was also one of the kids who was told to look the other way. It is a good thing I did not listen to that person, because once I stood up for myself the other girl never said another word to me. (she could barely talk for the next few days anyway because she had a busted lip. OOPS)
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