Consider Self-Esteem an Anecdote for Bullying

My son was 9 years old when the other boys bullied him and made fun of his name. It was at a slumber party which meant he was isolated and left to be considered outside the accepted circle.

When he returned home the next day, he told me about what happened. I asked him how he felt about it. I loved his answer and will never forget it. “Mom, I just couldn’t figure out why those guys would spend time making fun of MY name. It is MY name, so why would they bother?”

That told me something about my son and about bullying. A child who has a strong sense of self-esteem will not cow-tow to being demeaned by bullies. And if bullies had a good dose of self-esteem, they wouldn’t be bullies. Seems to me that a focus in education on building self-esteem would benefit everyone.