VICTORVILLE, Ca. – An Adelanto mother is reaching out to other parents asking them to help prevent their children from becoming bullies.
Jacqueline Zavala said that her daughter, a student at Mesa Linda Middle School, was bullied relentlessly until she was forced to leave the school she was attenting. “Now she’s staying home and studying at home, it’s like half of her experience as a teen girl is taken from her because of bullying, said Zavala. “It doesn’t stop, even at social media they are bullying her. All she ever wanted was to go to school and study.” She said that the way the school dealt with bullying led the bullies to further abuse of her daughter.
Like most parents, Zavala wants to know why children can not just go to school and feel safe while learning. This holds true for parents in all areas, in all walks of life. As a matter of fact, studies have shown that nearly 15% of people, 66% of them male, have been a bully at some point in their lives. The research done by “Ditch the Label” included 8,850 people and of those, 1239 said that they have bullied someone else. In addition, 50% of all people reported being bullied at some point before their 20th birthday.
The research suggests that since 66% of those bullying are males, that the behavior may be caused by the upbringing of some boys, which makes it unacceptable to show emotions. As boys are taught to hide their feelings, most girls are taught to speak up when they are upset about something. All 8,850 of those surveyed were also asked certain questions to help in figuring out why people become bullies. The research showed that those who experienced a traumatic situation in the past 5 years are far more likely to become bullies. These people do not have the proper life skills to cope and act out through bullying.
The data collected shows that those who exhibit bully-like behaviors can benefit from therapy or other ways of coping like meditation and/or yoga. Bullying can not only be emotionally damaging and cause fear in those bullied. On September 16, 2019, a Moreno Valley Landmark Middle School student, Diego Stolz, who was only 13-years-old was beaten unconscious by bullies. Diego was rushed to the hospital where he died as a result of the beating 9 days later. Both suspects, only 13-years-old are now facing charges relating to his death.
Days after his death, on October 2, 2019, two 12-year-old girls at Sunnymead Middle School in Moreno Valley assaulted a teacher and students. “Parents, please stop treating your kids bad or letting them get to this point,” pleaded Zavala. “It can be anybody’s child that can suffer from bullying or not make it by getting punched or kicked in the head.”
