There are some pretty serious stories about there about bullying and the terrible effects it can have on children and teenagers. Recently the Cincinnati Enquirer reported that the bullying Josh Frey of Ohio was experiencing was so bad that Josh turned down a kidney transplant he needed to survive. After some hard work by his doctor at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital, Josh changed his mind and hopes to get the transplant in June or even earlier if possible.
In a drastic move to try and help Josh deal with the bullying he was experiencing at school, Dr. Van De Voorde from Cincinnati Children's made a visit to Josh's school. During the visit, the doctor never directly confronted the bullies. Instead, he talked about Josh's condition and explained what Josh went through on a daily basis for treatment to keep him alive. After finding out how sick Josh was, the doctor said one of the bullies left the presentation. The doctor took the step of doing the school visit because Josh was so depressed from the bullying that he had last his will to fight and survive.
Certainly the story with Josh is an extreme situation, but it clearly shows how bullying can have severe consequences. Josh's doctor said during the school presentation that sick children can easily become targets of bullying because of their special needs and frequent school absences.
Bullying impacts about 1 in 7 children in the United States, and in some cases that number can be much higher. Some states report numbers as high as 1 in 2, while other groups estimate the number of children impacted by bullying to be between 15% and 25%. No matter what, these numbers clearly showt that bullying is a real problem in our schools and communities and it is time for everyone to take a stand.
You can learn more about anti-bullying programs by visiting the Happy Kids Safe Schools section of my blog.
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