Many of you reading this are familiar with my day to day adventures with my 13-year-old son. As most kids his age, he has many sides and layers to the person he is becoming. It is both very exciting and scary to witness.
Just recently we were talking about the growing number of teen suicides. Many of these suicides are teens who were being bullied for being gay. As my son finds his own voice and morals in this world, this matter in particular bothered me a great deal – the fact of any child feeling so broken that they resort to taking their own life immediately pulls at my heartstrings.
While both my son and I happen to be straight, I must confess has asked me on more than one occasion if I am a Lesbian. Young Sherlock Holmes is using my enjoyment of the LOGO channel as evidence.
I am a huge fan of RuPaul’s Drag-Race, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and I get downright giddy when there is a Noah’s Arc and Beautiful People marathon on, but I digress.
It was my responsibility to sit down with my son to explain to him what I expect, should he ever witness a peer being bullied. My son is an abundantly typical teen. He is mouthy at times. He is a self proclaimed know-it-all. And there are days when I’m sure his only goal is to joyfully exhaust my last nerve.
Or maybe that’s just my teen.
At the end of our Brady Bunch-Cosby-esq chat, I concluded with “you have a responsibility to defend these kids if you see them being teased.” My son looked at me and simply said “I do Mom…I always have.”
Michelle Bond lives in Woodbridge and often writes about her son, local living and about all of life’s other interesting curiosities. You can connect with her at [email protected] and on Twitter @1Coffeebreak.
