October is National Bullying Prevention Month, someone very close to me mentioned yesterday. That same certain someone and I got to talking about what this means to us, how we can address it and how we need to be almost equal parts proactive and reactive surrounding this issue with J. In addition to the random and obscure things bullies see as fodder to further their mean, power-hungry agendas, we got on the topic of things WE do that might create a jumping off point for a bully....and that led to my blog: what I say, how I say it, etc.
The net-net: I will be pulling back on my content as it relates to my family. I've been guarded where this content is concerned anyway, and always tried to relate my personal posts back to creativity in art, craft & cooking, a zest for living life to the fullest and a passion for handmade products ~ things that define me and therefore tie my work / life together. However, this conversation was pivotal for me; I would never forgive myself if something I DID caused emotional or physical pain to my child, and that's the bottom line. I will have to find other ways to share my story with you, at least ways that aren't so sappy and gushy were my kid is concerned. I applaud and respect everyone for their choice regarding this; it's very subjective!
It goes without saying that we, as bloggers, loving parents and the only true advocates for our children, would never, ever want anything we effuse about on our blogs about our children to become ammunition for someone to use against them. And the truth is, we don't know who reads our blogs, possibly parents of classmates, who might feel like something is cute or funny, who might share it with their child, who might post or talk about it in a public forum, which might get into a bully's hands, who then turns that cuteness into a living nightmare for your child. Innocent as it seemed, that one image, nickname or blog post could become a devastating label for your child that defines many years of misery. We just don't know how mean kids can be and how they might twist something around. So that's where I'm at with that.
I suppose I didn't need to announce this in a post when I could just as easily have let my future posts speak for me instead. However, I know that you care about your kids as much as I care about my mine, and this might be something you haven't thought about. We strive like mad to protect our kids' privacy for the sake of a random predator, but that predator may take a different, more everyday form than we think.
