Matt Epling.Com

I am a mother of 3 (soon to be 4) here in Waterford, Michigan.  I have two daughters who are 9 and 6 1/2.  I have a son who is 5.  They all attend Waterford Village Elementary School.  My daughter has been bullied this year and now this year.  We asked my daughter and the past bully to be in separate classrooms this year as I felt the school district was not doing their best to stop what was happening to my daughter.  It is now happening again with a different bully.  My daughter sometimes comes home sad and is "sometimes scared to go to school".  She does not understand why people are mean and laugh at her and has asked me that question a few times.  She stands up for herself, but this still happens.  I am in the middle (as of September 2011) of trying to fix this and take action.  With no anti-bullying law here in Michigan, I sometimes feel this is a losing fight.  My daughter is a brain and I feel her academics are suffering because of this social nightmare.  My 6 1/2 year old daughter does stand up for herself and can be a bully herself.  We try to teach her that this hurts others.  Unfortunately, with what her sister is going through, she is learning very well.  She has become not just a bystander, but sticking up for her little brother when she feels he is being bullied (at school).  My son is a very physical player and trying to teach him how to play nice is a challenge.  I stay home while my husband works.  Financially here in Michigan, it is stressful and the bullying only compounds our life.  I am happy to have learned about this website and looking for some support during these troubling times.  I am hoping a law will pass soon here in Michigan so schools are held accountable for their lack of enforcement as well as their lack of communication, at times.  Elementary schools have bullies, not just the secondary schools.