Bullying is more than just some child's play. So, Let's stop trying to recast it with softer language. Lets call it what it is. It's Lateral and Peer violence. It's physical, verbal, amd emotional assault. We need to be honest about it for two reasons. 1) School age violence and assaults ussually occur in tandem with sexual assault / violenece , domestic violence. 2) it has now been proven that consistent childhood adversity, specifically in relationship to violenece has lasting physiological consequences in the form of endocronological and neuro-psychological health. Let me lay down why that's important. Because it literally means that the consistent struggle against childhood violence impairs both endocrine, psychological, and neurologcical health. Quite literally impairing all healthy brain and body development. Think about that for a second. We may actually be witnessing one of the greatest health epidemics of our time and we're chalking it up to children will be children. We need to stop the pacifity and start protecting all children from violence. #YesAllChildren #AssaultIsAssault #EndAllViolence https://www.instagram.com/p/Bznwc6Mh6dD/?igshid=12lqhz78pm3ju

There is no easy solution in any direction, and I do not profess to know what the solution is, either. And I know that some people will say “Not all gun owners” but we really need to think about “Yes all children” in response. We need to keep talking about it because that’s the only way we act. And it’s easier for more to be brave when at least a few are.

"I'm having a real hard time with this ‪#‎yesallwomen‬ stuff because there are things I want to say right now but can't say because it's not my story, but I will say that this starts so, so young. Please talk to your kids about this. To your boys and your girls. Talk about what's okay to say and what's not. Talk about why it's not "cute" to hold a girl down on the playground to kiss her. Talk about what they can do when they see other kids cross the line. It's not just our girls who need protecting. Sometimes it's our boys who need protecting as well. And sometimes we need to protect our children from themselves because they've seen something they don't understand and it comes out in terrible ways. I wish I could say that elementary students were too young to worry about this stuff but the fact is that it's already an issue. Your child might be a victim. Or they might be a perpetrator just trying to act like their older brother or like something they saw on tv. It starts so early, and that's why we have to start early too. Talk to your kids. Ask them what they've seen personally that made them uncomfortable. Ask them what they'd do in certain situations. Ask them if they've seen nudity and what they'd do if they did. You might be shocked at how many of them have been exposed to things they never wanted to see...things they were afraid to talk to you about for fear of getting in trouble or getting their friends in trouble. Don't assume your child is safe. And don't assume your child knows when they're harassing another child. We talk about bullying, but we so seldom talk about the tougher subjects. Talk about them. Not just once. Keep those lines of communication open and keep talking because you never know what you might find out that you can help your child with. And when you help your child you also help mine. And vice versa."