The shocking suicide of Phoebe Prince that has rocked the country is raising a lot of serious questions about bullying, not least the one about the responsibility of the parents of a bully.
Yes the school system is called into question, educational authorities and teachers are questioned about what they were doing while the bullying in question was happening, but what about asking the parents?
Did the parents know what their children were up to when they called Phoebe names, sent her threatening text messages and generally made her life a living hell?
If the parents did know why did they do nothing? Did they dismiss it as par for the course? On the other hand if they did not know, surely they should have an inkling of what their child was up to.
After all, a lot of our values are learnt at home; what sort of home environment is it that does not instruct a child about empathy, to distinguish right from wrong, not to be hurtful and cruel? These are the sort of basics that parents should be able to pass on to their children.
The teachers and school authorities certainly have to do their part to curb bullying, but like charity, shouldn’t the end of bullying also start at home?
Source: Washington Post
