Help! My Son Is Being Called Bad Names.

You are doing all you can do. Short of finding some of those mama's out there and giving them a good what for....there's not much you can do. Combat those feelings at home. Finding empowerment for your children that they can cling to when times get tough.

My 10 yr old stepson has been through this, and my 4 yr old daughter recently went through this in her preschool class. My husband and I suffered ruthless name calling as children. It is so painful to relive those memories through my children.

My mother did the best she could to help us focus on what about people was important and to see past the name calling. To encourage us to hold on to what we were good at that those other kids couldn't take away or destroy.

You are absolutely right though. I don't know if that helps.

It is children who don't have happy homes, or children who are repeating what they hear their mom and dad say. And yes, it is the same thing as making fun of someone's religion, race, ethnicity..etc...

We have our children signed up for 1 sport per season. Or in my daughters case, she took dance one season. But it gets them some extra exercise without focusing on "loosing weight" and "being fat"... they go out and have fun. That's what is important.

I like to hold on to the VeggieTales tag line for this one... "and remember kids... God made you special!"

hi i just wanted to let u know that u have a beautiful family. You have done the right thing by going to the teacher but unfortunately sometimes it isnt enough. you may need a confrence with the teacher and principle. now schools have a zero tolerance policy for bullys and that is what the other children are doing. At the begining of the year they go over bullys at our school maybe u need to ask them to do a refresher course. I know the others are just young kids, but if they have been talked to several times by the teacher then they know better. Do what you can to encourage your son and remind him of how much he is loved. you cant do much about other children but you can give your son the tools he will need to help deal with this. i think we all can relate with the struggle he is going through, i think everyone has been teased at some point and time in their life. My daughter is in the first grade also, she is very popular in her class and school but she still gets teased and comes home cring or upset. Everytime i go to the school though there are kids all around her they talk to her in the halls even the older kids. i come in and i have 4th graders coming up to me and saying hey your hollys mom, and at the stores kids come up and say hi im hollys friend. so i know she is well liked, but i think at this age they really are seeing what they can get away with. And i really feel for your son. but like i said b4 he is a beautiful boy.

Hello A.,
My son went through this in 3rd grade except they were calling him stupid and dumb. etc.. This is bullying.. Go to the teacher and if that don't work go to the principal, if that don't work go to the superintendent. This is ridiclous (sp) behavior for kids to act this way. I know kids are kids but how would they feel if it was them getting called names.
I went to the teacher and she never done anything so i went to principal and ended up at the top because they didn't seem to care. It starting to affect his performance in school. I was so upset. The superintendent talked to the principal and she made them have a school wide discussion in the gym on bullying. The kids started gettin punished and they finally quit. I was at the school or on the phone with someone everyday until they did something about it.
The school my son went to last year here in knox county had a bullying policy. Getting in trouble for it once they got warned, 2 sent to office 3 note home 4 suspended. There is no tolerance for it in Knox CO. or at least the school my son went to. The middle school has a rule for it to.
So ask your child teacher about a "bullying policy" if they don't have one and dont do nothing girl bug them til they do because it will only affect him more and more. And when other kids see that some are laughing at the comments that one is making then it will become more and more kids doing it.
I hope this helps.
good luck
S.

Kids are kids. When you put them at young ages in a group together they will always do a pecking order and divide into cliques. That is because the kids actually make the rules of who is cool and who is popular. In case you haven't noticed, the "good" kids and the "nerdy" kids are called 'teacher's pet' and made fun of. If you want your child to stay tenderhearted and confident for his God given talents and features then you will need to take him out of public school and teach him at home. It isn't nearly as difficult as people think it is. I mean, after all, you did manage to homeschool the first 5-6 years. You successfully taught him how to talk and walk and feed himself. I bet you taught him how to ride a bike and brush his teeth and properly bathe himself. Maybe you even taught him how to count to 100 or memorize his abc's. Homeschooling is just a continuation of those things. Buy some math and phonics workbooks and find a support group. There are close to 1.7 million homeschoolers across the states right now. That isn't counting the actual students, that is just homeschooling families. I am one of them. I have three teenagers and have homeschooled for 14 years now.
Your son will thank you for it and you will have your happy little guy with you. His self confidence will grow and so will his love and appreciation for you. If you want more information just email me ____@____.com I'd be more than happy to be a listening ear or whatever you may need. Hope to hear from you, L

I have had experience with name calling myself growing up as has my oldest daughter. going to the teacher and principal will sometimes help, but as they get older kids will find ways of making other kids miserable if they can. The key is to find a way to make the child feel good about him or her self. Find a sport or other activity that he can excel at - one were a larger size is a plus would be a great help. My son had larger boys on his baseball teams (started when he was 4), their size helped make them stronger batters. Football and to some extent basketball and soccer are also helped by size. Boys seem to really appreciate a good athlete and they don't get bullied much. Sports also work out for the girls and as an added benefit, they help keep them all healthy.
Even if sports are not your childs area of excellence, something is. I firmly believe that God makes each of us special and has given us all a special talent. Our job as praents is to help our child find that talent and nuture it so they will feel good about themselves. Once that has been accomplished, all the name calling in the world will not matter. Once the bullies see that the name calling doesn't bother them, they usually leave them alone.

Hey! A. my 7yr.old son is going through the same things at school. He would come home from school telling me that the kidz say that he can't do some of the things that they do because he is fat,but I tell him don't you worry about what other kidz say about you GOD is the only 1 that can judge you!! My son has seizures and the Meds that he take made him big that way. He also can't use his right hand due to his birth.

A., well first of all i dont agree with you telling him that kids from unhappy homes will say things like this, cause even children that come from a happy home with both working parents will say things to hurt other kids. But if I was you I would make some cupcakes and take to school one day and set in his class and see what happens. Most kids will act like they love him than, but you need to let him know your going to do that and not tell the class that. Let him know that kids will say things to hurt him but if he will just invite 1 or 2 boys over to spend the night things will change, cause kids will see he is just a boy and isnt fat like they claim to be. good luck and kids like choclate cup cakes.

Hello Amanada,
My name is C. and I have a son that is now 18,but when he was your son's age he was always picked on in school.He got picked on for anything and everything that the kids could find to make him upset and I always told him that the kids were just jealous of him because he was so nice and such a good child,always nice to everyone.He would eat lunch alone and one day I went to eat lunch with him after we were done eating he got up and took our trays to the counter.I was watching him and he left and I wondered where he went and then he returned with a bunch of trays in his hands and I asked him where he went and he said.I went to the teachers lounge and got all the trays for them.He told me he did it everyday.I cried so hard that day because I new my son was better than any kid in that school and he didn't deserve to be treated that way.Well I do have an idea that may help.One day my son was picked on by the kids and the teacher made every kid in the class write my son a apology letter and he came home and he was so happy because alot of the kids that year didn't pick on him anymore.I hope this helps.:O)