Twelve year old boy kills himself because of bullying

[ancientlight]

Hi all. I just saw this video :




Which off course devasted me . I have a twelve year old son, and he was bullied as well before I started homeschooling him.
I absolutely hate how bullying is still ignored in schools and imo bullying by kids should be treated as assault and criminally charged as juvies.  These bullies will and often do become career criminals.

Anyway, I was thinking as I'm home all day homeschooling my son, I could easily add on a second child. 
I would do this for free, or very low pay , to help parents who can't afford to stay home to homeschool their bullied child.
The requirment is that the child is being bullied and that the parents can't afford to homeschool their child as they need to work. Does this sound like a reasonable idea or am I nuts? If I can help one child from being bullied , and especially stop one child from killing themselves it's worth it to me. 

What do you guys think? Legal risk , other risks etc? 

My son uses an online homeschool platform so the child would have to use something similar. I would be there to keep this child company and watch him. I would not get involved with more than that.
Off course for my son I print and check worksheets as IMO the online platform alone is not enough..

Thoughts?

[BodhisattvaStyle]

Hi all. I just saw this video :




Which off course devasted me . I have a twelve year old son, and he was bullied as well before I started homeschooling him.
I absolutely hate how bullying is still ignored in schools and imo bullying by kids should be treated as assault and criminally charged as juvies.  These bullies will and often do become career criminals.

Anyway, I was thinking as I'm home all day homeschooling my son, I could easily add on a second child. 
I would do this for free, or very low pay , to help parents who can't afford to stay home to homeschool their bullied child.
The requirment is that the child is being bullied and that the parents can't afford to homeschool their child as they need to work. Does this sound like a reasonable idea or am I nuts? If I can help one child from being bullied , and especially stop one child from killing themselves it's worth it to me. 

What do you guys think? Legal risk , other risks etc? 

My son uses an online homeschool platform so the child would have to use something similar. I would be there to keep this child company and watch him. I would not get involved with more than that.
Off course for my son I print and check worksheets as IMO the online platform alone is not enough..

Thoughts?

I was put in school a year early, so I was smaller and not quite as mature as my classmates all throughout elementary. Needless to say I was bullied bad. In all of my life experiences that was honestly the toughest time I've ever known. Bullying can be devastating to a kinder more compassionate soul. As we see from this story, which is a story I have read WAY too much. Once I had grown into myself, failed a grade and got into the right age group,  well, let's just say I took it upon myself to "get involved" anytime I saw someone picking on someone "weaker" than them. I hit the weights, learned to fight, and honed in on the anger I had accumulated for bullies. I've taken on many fights that were not my own. Even taken some some straight up ass whoopins for other people. 


So, with that said...


You have just earned my complete and TOTAL RESPECT! You are a soldier! 


Great idea!!!! I wished to God that I had someone like you back then. I am in awe of this right. now.


Go for it! You have an epic idea! I'd even back you up if I could in sone way tbph.


Kudos, ancientlight......kudos.... you have my upmost respect.


Ps. I just gave you more reputation points than I have anyone else on here. I'll give 3 points to a stellar idea or post, but that's rare. I gave you 3+1, because this is the most noble thought I've read on any of these sites.

To the rest of us:
Ancientlight just came up with a solution. We should all take note here imo.

[F2d5thCav]

As far as risks go, you should engage a good lawyer to write up a contract that frees you from liability if "something" happens.  Any care for a minor, as you know, demands a lot of attention and management.  You don't want to get bankrupted if a kid suddenly passes away for some reason, for example.

You're correct about the school system and bullying.  Very little real interest in dealing with it.  I read a Swedish study about 20 years ago than mentioned in that country, about 40 to 45 per cent of the schoolyard bullies went on to become career criminals.  "Baby bad guys" in other words.  One has to wonder what their families were like.  I've seen some families in which criminal activity was simply the "family thing".

Poor kid, it should have never reached a point in which he felt like killing himself was the only escape.

Cheers

[ancientlight]

Thanks for the replies guys. I don't even know where to begin with this. 

I would indeed have to talk to a lawyer , which just displays the utter miserable state of the country. Even doing something for free is risky enough that people could get back at you and bankrupt you .
That's why we are where we are as a nation (not one of the happiest countries in the world btw,nowhere near).

I would also have to figure out how to find a bullied child and gain his/her parents trust.
He/she would have to be local as well.
I suppose I could start with local homeschooling forums. This feels daunting, I'm hoping it's not a huge mistake that will just bite me in the a**.

[NightskyeB4Dawn]

I can't say what the answer is today. Bullying was expected when I was a child, and that was over half a century ago.

My mother handled it by telling us that if we didn't fight back that we would have to fight her. When either choice meant an ass whooping, I chose the lesser of the ass whooping.

It took care of the bullying situation for me because it removed the fear. It also earned me the label of crazy, and made bullies shy away from me. I was called Olive Oyl because I was tall and skinny. I was called Underdog because there was no need to fear when I was around, I would give or take an ass whooping from any bully.

This only lasted for the time that it took for all the bullies to get the memo.

I have never picked a fight, and I will walk away from one, if given the opportunity, and you don't put your hands on me. Hit me, and it is over. Spit on me and one of us is dead. You can take that to the bank.

That was in a time when most folk had rifle racks in their trucks, and battles were fought fist to cuffs.  Today kids as young as 2 years old are walking around with hand guns. I am just glad I don't have school age children in this day and age.

[BodhisattvaStyle]

Thanks for the replies guys. I don't even know where to begin with this. 

I would indeed have to talk to a lawyer , which just displays the utter miserable state of the country. Even doing something for free is risky enough that people could get back at you and bankrupt you .
That's why we are where we are as a nation (not one of the happiest countries in the world btw,nowhere near).

I would also have to figure out how to find a bullied child and gain his/her parents trust.
He/she would have to be local as well.
I suppose I could start with local homeschooling forums.  This feels daunting, I'm hoping it's not a huge mistake that will just bite me in the a**.

I can try and help here, if I can. I've got some teacher friends who do homeschooling. I'll make some calls and run this idea by some of them, and see what i come up with.
I say run this idea on your social media. Put the idea out there. You may get more responses than you'd think.

I totally dig NSB4D's story there. It was kinda hot, imo. 
Unfortunately not all kids have the physical ability to defend themselves. Bullying today is nowhere near what it used to be. These young ones are dealing with avenues of bullying that we never knew. In our day if a kid was picking on you, worst case scenario the entire school would laugh and make fun. These kids today have to worry about their bullying being on display for the entire world, and for all time. Their bullying is immortalized online now. A whole different ball game.

I honestly had zero desire to "fight" when I was being bullied. It just wasnt in me back then. I just wanted tp play G.I.Joe's and soccer and such. It just wasnt in my heart to be that way. The bullying itself made me that way. Then it made me too angry for too long. Just a double edged sword all around.


Have faith in yourself, ancientlight. If this is something you feel strongly about....go for it! You may start out with one kid, and if it goes well, the word of mouth will spread. Remember: If you can make a differnce in just one kids life.....you have cast a mountain into the sea. 
I can add some insight. Expect more female students. They are being affected way more from this bullying these days. Just look at the teen suicide rate. Its 75% female teen suicides last i checked.
I'll make some calls and get back to ya.

[NightskyeB4Dawn]

Thanks for the replies guys. I don't even know where to begin with this. 

I would indeed have to talk to a lawyer , which just displays the utter miserable state of the country. Even doing something for free is risky enough that people could get back at you and bankrupt you .
That's why we are where we are as a nation (not one of the happiest countries in the world btw,nowhere near).

I would also have to figure out how to find a bullied child and gain his/her parents trust.
He/she would have to be local as well.
I suppose I could start with local homeschooling forums.  This feels daunting, I'm hoping it's not a huge mistake that will just bite me in the a**.

I can try and help here, if I can. I've got some teacher friends who do homeschooling. I'll make some calls and run this idea by some of them, and see what i come up with.
I say run this idea on your social media. Put the idea out there. You may get more responses than you'd think.

I totally dig NSB4D's story there. It was kinda hot, imo. 
Unfortunately not all kids have the physical ability to defend themselves. Bullying today is nowhere near what it used to be. These young ones are dealing with avenues of bullying that we never knew. In our day if a kid was picking on you, worst case scenario the entire school would laugh and make fun. These kids today have to worry about their bullying being on display for the entire world, and for all time. Their bullying is immortalized online now. A whole different ball game.

I honestly had zero desire to "fight" when I was being bullied. It just wasnt in me back then. I just wanted tp play G.I.Joe's and soccer and such. It just wasnt in my heart to be that way. The bullying itself made me that way. Then it made me too angry for too long. Just a double edged sword all around.


Have faith in yourself, ancientlight. If this is something you feel strongly about....go for it! You may start out with one kid, and if it goes well, the word of mouth will spread. Remember: If you can make a differnce in just one kids life.....you have cast a mountain into the sea. 
I can add some insight. Expect more female students. They are being affected way more from this bullying these days. Just look at the teen suicide rate. Its 75% female teen suicides last i checked.
I'll make some calls and get back to ya.

Bullying is just one of the problems our children have to deal with in this brave new world.

The internet makes the whole bullying issue more complex, more invasive, and more harmful. 

I think that maybe parents should be looking at ways to prepare their children for the blowback of the ills they will have to deal with in this "Clockwork Orange" society.

We can't be with our children every hour of every day. We can't keep them in a plastic bubble or a virtual world bubble to protect them.

I am not saying they have to go as far as my Mom, with her kick ass and take names approach, but children need to be taught how to recognize a potential problem, how to avoid it, and how to diffuse it.

I find too many children in my work, walking into the lions den wearing a meat suit, thinking that the lions would never touch them, because they are special and sprinkled in fairy dust.

I wonder where they get the ideas they have about being special from.

[BodhisattvaStyle]

I'm unable to post the link (i found it on my Samsung news app), but the motive for the recent school shooting in Iowa has been revealed. 

And it applies to this conversation. 

The reason for the shooting?

Bullying...

Apparently the young man who shot a 6th grader dead, as well as injuring 5 others, had been a victim of Bullying all throughout elementary school. He had recently learned his little sister, a 6th grader, was becoming a victim of Bullying, and he didn't want her going through the same horror he endured.


Disclaimer: I'm not posting this as a viable excuse for his actions.

I do, however, find this relevant to the state of mind the youth is in over Bullying.

Something needs to change.

[Schmoe]

My two little girls are getting to that age, 1st and 4th grade.  I always tell them, if anybody says anything to you you don't like, you go to your teacher.  If that doesn't solve it, I'll go to the principal.  If that doesn't solve it, I'll go to the kid's parents.  If that doesn't solve it, I'll go to the kid.

[ancientlight]

Thanks for the replies guys. I don't even know where to begin with this. 

I would indeed have to talk to a lawyer , which just displays the utter miserable state of the country. Even doing something for free is risky enough that people could get back at you and bankrupt you .
That's why we are where we are as a nation (not one of the happiest countries in the world btw,nowhere near).

I would also have to figure out how to find a bullied child and gain his/her parents trust.
He/she would have to be local as well.
I suppose I could start with local homeschooling forums.  This feels daunting, I'm hoping it's not a huge mistake that will just bite me in the a**.

I can try and help here, if I can. I've got some teacher friends who do homeschooling. I'll make some calls and run this idea by some of them, and see what i come up with.
I say run this idea on your social media. Put the idea out there. You may get more responses than you'd think.

I totally dig NSB4D's story there. It was kinda hot, imo. 
Unfortunately not all kids have the physical ability to defend themselves. Bullying today is nowhere near what it used to be. These young ones are dealing with avenues of bullying that we never knew. In our day if a kid was picking on you, worst case scenario the entire school would laugh and make fun. These kids today have to worry about their bullying being on display for the entire world, and for all time. Their bullying is immortalized online now. A whole different ball game.

I honestly had zero desire to "fight" when I was being bullied. It just wasnt in me back then. I just wanted tp play G.I.Joe's and soccer and such. It just wasnt in my heart to be that way. The bullying itself made me that way. Then it made me too angry for too long. Just a double edged sword all around.


Have faith in yourself, ancientlight. If this is something you feel strongly about....go for it! You may start out with one kid, and if it goes well, the word of mouth will spread. Remember: If you can make a differnce in just one kids life.....you have cast a mountain into the sea. 
I can add some insight. Expect more female students. They are being affected way more from this bullying these days. Just look at the teen suicide rate. Its 75% female teen suicides last i checked.
I'll make some calls and get back to ya.

I haven't done much yet, but it remains on my backburner mind, but never out. I have many things going on besides homeschooling, mental health issues as well , but if I can help one child it will have been worth it.

I'm a terrible procrastinator in some tasks though, more than others, especially when I feel overhwhelmed. My plan is to make a plan by next week and make taking steps to take care of this , part of my planning. 

Partly I'm also thinking I could use a library , instead of just at home. Will see, still thinking things through.