YOU MATTER
How do we reach our children sooner before they act out, making threats on the walls of our high school to harm other students?
We learned this weekend, that our town is not immune to the potential for our children to be put in this unfortunate, terrible situation. Perhaps we were lucky – we were warned. But how much pain does a child have to be in to resort to violence against other students? How much does a child feel like they just don’t matter. Some resort to drugs, alcohol, eating disorders, cutting, suicide – inflicting their pain on themselves. Others turn their emotions outward, hurting others.
So much of it is out of our control, which is the scariest piece for a parent. The only thing we can do is hug our children, and tell them that they are loved and they matter. And think about how we can reach our children sooner, before they get to their breaking point. They are under so much pressure to succeed, but maybe they just want to know that they matter and are loved.
If you are reading this and have felt like you don’t matter, please know that you do matter. You are important and loved no matter what you have thought or done. You matter even if it seems like others do not have time for you. It does not matter if you are a bully or have been bullied. If you get A’s or F’s. If you are popular or introverted. It does not matter what you look like or how much you weigh or how many friends you have – you matter. And if you feel like you want to harm yourself or someone else, please just tell someone. Because YOU MATTER.
Alternative Perspective 