The “Kids Will Be Kids” Cop Out

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Many teachers, principals- even the bullies’ parents will use this excuse to sweep incidences of bullying under the rug and trivialize any bullying the targeted student suffers. The “kids will be kids” cop out is designed to protect only the bullies, not the victim- the child who needs the protection.

But see this as it is- a cop out! A farce!

School officials have a legal responsibility to keep kids out of harm’s way while they’re at school- all kids. Not just a select few.

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Many schools shirk responsibility and either blame the victim or hide bullying altogether. I’ve read news articles that reported situations where schools failed to notify the parents when a child was seriously injured by bullies.

Even worse, I’ve read about a few cases when the school neglected to call 911 when a child who was injured by a bully desperately needed medical attention.

These schools turn a blind eye when they see bullies making some innocent child’s life hell. They turn a deaf ear and blame the bullied child when he/she reports that they’re a target of bullying. I’ve read about extreme cases where schools retaliated against the victim’s family because they wouldn’t keep silent.

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Officials are afraid that the school and school district will be given a black eye. So, they do everything possible to hide bullying that is rampant in their schools.

Because of these occurrences, parents are losing trust in the public-school system. I don’t blame them.

People are waking up to the fact that school officials are elected officials- politicians! And in many cases of bullying, when schools fail to act, you can best believe that politics is behind it.

In the past few years, homeschooling has skyrocketed. Should it be any wonder?

0 thoughts on “The “Kids Will Be Kids” Cop Out

  1. Aimee Eddy says:

    This is so true. I’ve heard the kids will be kids cop out. Bullying is more than kids being kids. Teachers and principals didn’t protect me. They were part of the problem. They should protect all students.

  2. rts - Facing the Challenges of Mental Health says:

    Cherie, I read your posts about bullying in schools. There is one aspect of some schools that I feel is approved by the leadership of the schools. That is fraternities on the campus of Colleges and Universities.
    Now, maybe I am out in left field but these fraternities should not be allowed.

  3. bigskybuckeye says:

    I appreciate your passionate discussion! I agree schools should be safe zones when it comes to bullying. At the same time, parents need to be more engaged in monitoring their children’s social media posts.

  4. Herb says:

    The “kids will be kids” cop-out needs to be exposed. One thing people can do is pay attention to local school-board elections. Not everybody can do in-depth research on every candidate, but if everyone does a little bit it’s going to help. Although it’s hard to find out what their actual attitudes are because they will all say they are against bullying.

  5. Charlena E. Jackson says:

    Oh my gosh! Don’t you hate when people say ‘kids will be kids’??? No, most kids nowadays act like their parents. They are so rude, disrespectful, cruel, and cold-hearted.

    Parents, teachers, and administrators need to stop making up one senseless excuse after another. They need to take bullying seriously, after all, bullying is the Silent Killer.

    Everyone need to be held accountable for their actions.

    • cheriewhite says:

      That’s right. But I’ve found that the reason why people use that cop out is because they’re either too lazy or they’re practicing favoritism- of the bullies.

  6. Clare says:

    We had this trouble at my son’s school when my son didn’t want to go outside for playtime.

    There were some nasty “games” being played between the boys which involved horrible language and behaviour being used by groups of boys against a few isolated more vulnerable boys who felt under pressure to join in with the “game” with the more popular boys. The larger group of boys always seemed to have the power in the game and controlled what happened. The isolated boys were not enjoying it but felt they could not get away from it.

    When we spoke to the school, the basic response was that “boys will be boys” and it was just “play fighting”. Seemingly ignoring the fact that for something to be a “game” or a “play fight” it should be equally enjoyable to all those involved. By default (of course they did not say these exact words) they labelled my boy as “over sensitive” and me as an “overprotective” parent instead of properly addressing a possible incident of playground bullying. Their suggested solution was for my son to be allowed to stay inside at playtime if he did not wish to go outside with the other boys!!!!

    • cheriewhite says:

      My heart breaks for you and for.your son. It’s only typical of schools- blame the victim. The ‘”oversensitive” comment is such a classic response. And it’s sickening.

      I hope you were able to get it taken.care of. This kind of thing damages kids for life sometimes.

      • Clare says:

        Thank you for your reply. It took a while, but we did eventually get it sorted out. However, although my son is much, much happier at school these days, his least favourite parts of the day are still break times and P. E. and I think this stems from these earlier experiences on the playground. Like you say the effects of these things can stay with a person for a whole lifetime, so schools do need to work harder to address them fairly. Thanks for sharing your post. This is an important issue.

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