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Are we over using the word bully?
Mommy’s Weird
By Kyla Cornish
Today I overheard something that surprised me and got me thinking a bit more about the word ‘bully.’
I had my kids at the spray park and it was packed. Some kids were lying in puddles. Some were sliding down the unsafe slide. Some were sitting directly on the spraying water. Some kids had little water spray thingies and were spraying and chasing each other. It was awesome watching them. They were truly having fun that only kids under the age of ten can really have.
A little girl about six ran up to her Dad and said that another kid had sprayed her in the face. The Dad immediately stood up and called his other daughter, about nine-years-old, over to their spot in the shade.
And he said, “Your sister is being bullied. It is your job to stand up for her when she is being bullied. When you see other kids bully your sister you need to tell them to stop and to leave her alone.”
Now, I am a looky loo and an eavesdropper by trade.
So, I can tell you what was really going on.
The kid who sprayed his six-year-old was about three. The little girl who told her Dad was really not THAT upset about the entire thing and the nine-year-old who was being told to stand up for her sister really couldn’t have cared less and kept spinning in circles while her Dad lectured her.
After all was said and done, I couldn’t help but keep thinking about the word ‘bully’ and about a great conversation that I had a with a group of girlfriends recently.
It was at least a two hour conversation and we all had lots of things to add. What exactly is a bully? What if you child is labeled a bully? What to do if your child is being bullied? Is there a difference between being teased, picked on and being bullied? What happens to a bully when they grow up?
What do you think?
Are we over using the word bully?
– Kyla Cornish is a “retired” radio Dj adjusting to being a Momma of two children. Main problems? Lack of sex, sleep sanity and an addiction to saucy chicken wings. Kyla has been published in a series of funny blogger ebooks, “Life Well Blogged.” She has also been recognized as one of the Top 25 Funny Moms in Canada and US by Circle of Moms. Then she was kicked out of that contest for cheating. She also won a baking competition when she was 11 at a 4-H Rally. Find Kyla here: https://www.mommysweird.com and follow on twitter @mommyisweird
