3 Ways Being Bullied As A Kid Made Me A Stronger Adult
There are things I no longer tolerate
I used to be a childcare worker at multiple schools in my city. On the job, I got to observe how children navigate social situations that many adults still struggle with. As you can imagine, bullying was a common occurrence. One incident was unforgettable.
I was working an after-school shift at a program with lots of conflict and issues with respect. I noticed one young man who was singled out repeatedly and called a name he obviously didn’t like.
Throughout my shift, I watched him endure relentless taunting that continued even with verbal warnings and eventually, reprimands from myself and the other workers.
I could tell the poor kid had reached his boiling point when during a spat, he screamed at the top of his lungs “Stop!” the other children laughed. “Six years!”, he continued. “I’m so tired of this”.
I heard someone who had been tortured every day for years in a place where they were supposed to be safe. The group leader saw an unnecessarily belligerent child who deserved a time-out.
The striking part of that experience wasn’t his outburst — anyone who works in childcare knows that those are an almost daily reality. The way my coworker reacted is what caught…
