Newsblog: Living in a world of bullies: One boy tells his story
The kid described in this article clearly has some ‘victim’ problems that are bringing on some of the bullying. Some of what’s going on with him might be family-related, as the mother seems very over-involved, which, by definition, means the father might be underinvolved. But schools are tough places if you’re at all different, especially big schools. And kids who bully have problems, too.
I remember being bullied some in grade school and high school. I’ve always attributed it to my dad, though, who was often a bully of sorts towards both my mom and us kids. My fear of him, my fear of being a wimp, together with my personality, made me a natural target. But then one of my sons had a rough time being bullied in middle school, and I had to adjust my attitude about bullying as not just being a problem for the victim and family to solve. It’s more complex, and there are no simple answers.