When I first read about the incident in Delaware, I couldn't even think about it or write anything because its something so close to home that the thought of it is sickening. Close to where I live, close to what I do and close in age to my own daughter who comes home everyday with stories about what its like to be a girl in her school. To hear about someone actually losing their life this way is beyond anything one could imagine.
There is much more going on here than just some boy. In most cases, the issue at the forefront is just the outcome of whats bubbling under the surface and for girls this age, it usually centers around themselves and the people around them. The way they feel about themselves and how those feelings are impacted by the perceptions of others. Their lives at home. Their relationships with important people or the absence of important people in their lives. The presence of stress and pressure. The pressure to be like everyone else which is so strong and can only be countered by love from home that many of them do not get.
Everyone in this situation needs help. Amy's parents, her friends, the girls behind the attack, their parents and friends, the boy involved, EVERYONE. Children are losing their lives to violence and incarceration OVER NOTHING. I try my best to tell my daughter how the choices she makes now can impact the rest of her life but many girls have no one to tell them this.
WHAT CAN WE DO? There is no time to waste. Things are getting worse and worse everyday and every time we hear a story like this it seems the details get crazier. Have you had success with conflict resolution for girls? What's your approach? What do you think is behind the recent spikes in violence among girls?
No comments:
Post a Comment