Battling Bullying in Boise

Being a kid is tough. If your child is battling bullying, here's some tips on what you can do. 

My kids moved here to the Treasure Valley almost 2 months ago. They've adjusted well for the most part. They met two really cool little girls next door that come over to play often, and they are becoming involved in extra-curricular activities.

My daughter Jocelyn had made several friends at school, church, and in the neighborhood, but my son Boston has struggled.

My daughter has commented how he always eats lunch by himself and plays by himself at recess. As a Mother, it absolutely breaks my heart. I ask him frequently if he has made any friends and he just says "not really."

Boston is a "different" kid. I'm in no denial about that. He was diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder shortly after his 2nd birthday and at 3 1/2 that diagnosis was confirmed to be Asperger's Syndrome. In a nutshell, it means he struggles socially, thinks a little differently, develops deep obsessions, and he's not the most physically coordinated kid. However, he has done well enough to always be in a typical classroom without any assistance.

Up until our move, he had grown up in the same neighborhood his whole life. The kids accepted his quirks and he had several friends that popped in and out of our house after school.

Now he is forced to navigate through an increasingly complicated social world in a place where he knows no one.

Recently his situation went from not having friends to flat out bullying. Name calling and a "don't let Boston come near you game."

I was devastated when he told me. Then I had to make the careful decision to do something about it without becoming "too involved" and giving those little stinkers a piece of my mind!

He begged me not tell his teacher, but I did. I had to. She felt awful and told me she would talk to the kids about bullying and treating others with kindness without singling Boston out. I also signed up to start volunteering in the classroom so I can get a birds eye view on what is going on.

I'm hoping and praying that things will improve. In the meantime, here's some tips I found if your child is battling bullying. It's a great article that discusses why bullying happens, different ways it can happen, and what you can do about it. These are just a few brief suggestions.

• walk away from the bully
• report the bully to a trusted adult
• work on your own confidence
• find others who have the same values and interests
• share your feelings

I was also really happy to discover that we are doing great things about this issue here in the Treasure Valley. For example, a "kindness" assembly was recently held at The Christine Donnell School of the Arts.

If you are battling bullying, I really hope you can find your way. I've always strongly believed that it's the Quality of Friends you have, not the Quantity of friends and hopefully you'll find at least one person that just "gets" you or your child.