The trope of countless teen and pre-teen movies, there's nothing funny about bullies in real life. In the movies, the picked-on kid(s) almost always get some kind of glorious revenge on the butthead bully. We laugh, the credits roll and everything ends happily. But in real life, bullies can leave lasting scars on kids.

Photo by Michael Foth, Townsquare Media
Not bullies. Just a soccer game. Photo by Michael Foth, Townsquare Media
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It only took three weeks for our first bullying encounter.

It seems like everyone gets along fairly well for the first few weeks of school, but it doesn't take long before some kids start showing their true colors. My 10-year-old started middle school in Laurel this year. Today (9/8) she came home and shared that another student at school choked her and her friend. On school property, during school hours. This same girl thought it was hilarious to put a sticky note on my daughter's back last year that said: "kick me." Naturally, my blood is boiling.

Credit champlifezy
Credit champlifezy
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Please teach your children kindness.

Bullies have been around forever, but it really seems like it's gotten much worse. A few years ago when my oldest girl got into 7th grade we had an absolutely awful encounter with a bully. The situation was eventually resolved but not before tears, discussions with school administrators, and an extremely uncomfortable meeting with the principal and the other child's parents.

Students getting on school bus
Credit: lewkmiller, Getty Stock
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I don't have answers.

People are jerks. Parents are jerks. Kids learn behavior from parents or perhaps they're never taught that it's wrong to treat other kids like crap. Kindergartners generally start off with everyone being kind. Sometime in the next couple of years, the bullies begin to show. Why? And why don't schools seem to be able to control the problem? It's almost like they've given up. There are cameras on almost every inch of the school property. Why aren't parents of bullies held accountable more often?

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