Heartbreaking Story

[ForeverFamily]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/14/ashlynn-conner-ten-year-o_n_1092683.html?1321290598&ncid=webmail3

 

I saw this story today. It breaks my heart. My heart goes out to the girl's poor family.:crying::grouphug:

 

Edited to add: Just to warn anyone that reads the story. It is about a girl who committed suicide due to being bullied in school.

Edited November 14, 2011 by ForeverFamily

[....]

Oh. wow. I was not prepared for that headline. I have a 10 yro.

 

This happened last year where we live, too. I think he was 9.

[ForeverFamily]

It is so sad. I don't have any kids that age myself. But I was really shocked to hear that the girl was only 10, in elementary school! I was expecting a child in junior high or high school! Not that Jr High or high school age would make it any better! But elementary?! It makes my heart ache for that poor mom, and the poor sister who found her.

[Pretty in Pink]

That's terrible. She was so young.

 

The linked article is about a 10 yr old girl that hanged herself, just so you all know before you click on the link.

[amo_mea_filiis.]

:crying::crying::crying:

[ForeverFamily]

That's terrible. She was so young.

 

The linked article is about a 10 yr old girl that hanged herself, just so you all know before you click on the link.

 

Thanks! I guess I should of warned people what it was about.

[mom2denj]

This is so, so sad!

[GoVanGogh]

This happened last year where we live, too. I think he was 9.

He was. :crying:

They now homeschool.

[Faithseed]

There are no words. :crying::crying::crying:

[fourcatmom]

Stories like this affirm for me that I made the right choice in Home Schooling my kids last January when my 10 yo pleaded with me to do so. I cringe to think of what this poor girl was experiencing and sad that it ended this way.

 

We never really know how much are kids are telling us. My daughter was so distraught last year about the drama and such at school that she laid on the bathroom floor for hours crying and begging me not to send her. I let her stay home for that week while I tried to figure things out but in the end, she never went back. I knew that I had to listen to her and what she was feeling. I am so happy that we are now doing this.

 

This is such a sad ending to a beautiful little girl and her family.

[....]

Stories like this affirm for me that I made the right choice in Home Schooling my kids last January when my 10 yo pleaded with me to do so. I cringe to think of what this poor girl was experiencing and sad that it ended this way.

 

I really wish people thought of homeschooling as a mainstream option. The article said that the girl had asked to be homeschooled. There is such a negative vibe about homeschooling in our society, maybe the mom just heard all the usual negative things (lack of socialization, they'll be behind) and scratched that option off her list.

 

Our neighbors have told us that bullying is rampant in some of the schools here. :glare: People don't have to send their kids to school if that is going on. There are other options!

[Blueridge]

Oh my gosh. That poor mother...she has to live with that awful guilt of denying her dd the opportunity to homeschool. I cannot imagine the pain. Tragic. I wonder if her 'fellow students' are feeling any responsibility.

[Mergath]

I wonder if her 'fellow students' are feeling any responsibility.

 

From what I remember about kids that age, probably not. :glare: Kids in that age group that aren't raised to be caring, loving people seem to have an amazing capacity for cruelty and selfishness. When I was a kid, the bullying began in around second grade and lasted into high school, but mid-elementary was especially bad. They were clever enough to be really mean, but hadn't quite developed a good sense of empathy yet.

[DarlaS]

This is so so horrible. She was just a baby! :crying:

 

Bullying did factor into our decision to homeschool. I was well aware of the fact that regardless of a schools "policy", what usually happens is the victim eventually just gives up. Less reports = fewer "incidents" which means the policy is working right? Not really. :sad:

 

I should not have read that article. I really should not have read the comments. Didn't manage to stop myself from leaving a smart@$$ reply (or two) to someone jerk who had to go and use the "S" word. Sigh...

 

Off to do something useful like laundry and educating my kids.

[seraphina]

I read the story this morning and just cried. I can't imagine what the mother is going through and her poor sister for finding her. My son attempted suicide when he was 11 the same way and it just brought back horrific memories. My heart aches that any child so young is in so much pain that they see no wait out. I want to have faith in humanity, I want to see the good in the world and then I realize that there is good but there is also so much bad. I have seen how cruel children can be, I wish they would learn kindness in their homes but sadly our society just seems to be fueling this type of event.

 

Also this morning I just wished I could force my three that still choose to be in school to stay home. I just hugged them and told them I was always here for them. What more can we do.

[fourcatmom]

I really wish people thought of homeschooling as a mainstream option. The article said that the girl had asked to be homeschooled. There is such a negative vibe about homeschooling in our society, maybe the mom just heard all the usual negative things (lack of socialization, they'll be behind) and scratched that option off her list.

 

Our neighbors have told us that bullying is rampant in some of the schools here. :glare: People don't have to send their kids to school if that is going on. There are other options!

 

I have actually always wanted to home school but there were reasons why they went to school. They were doing well and change is hard, so I kind of let go of what I wanted until last year when she asked. I knew this was a chance to do this and I took it. I was told by others to make her work through whatever the issues were. Although I knew that it was something that I could do and wanted to do, I still had to figure out HOW to do it since I was working full time. When I talked to the Principal of the school about her not wanting to come and crying at home, her suggestion was for me to drop her off in her office and she would hold the door closed and then I could leave and she would handle it. That's when I knew without a doubt that my children would never go back. It's taken me almost a year but in January I will be only working 4 afternoons a week which will help but we have been doing okay the whole time with some family support.

 

I was also surprised and how I figured things out. Sometimes you don't know what will work until you try. I actually got approval to take them to work with me for the end of last year (jan-april) and that helped me meet their immediate needs and still have my income. Now, this year I have been able to slowly change my schedule.

[QuirkyKapers]

Horrible! :crying: It breaks my heart when I hear about these things.

[katilac]

Such a beautiful girl, and she looks so happy in the pictures.

 

The utter senselessness of most bullying is shown by the fact that the kids taunted this slender girl about being fat. I guess that 'fat' is now the go-to insult for girls, in the same way that 'fag' is for boys.

[seraphina]

Such a beautiful girl, and she looks so happy in the pictures.

 

The utter senselessness of most bullying is shown by the fact that the kids taunted this slender girl about being fat. I guess that 'fat' is now the go-to insult for girls, in the same way that 'fag' is for boys.

 

Sadly it is. My daughter is a thin girl but when she was in second grade a neighborhood girl decided she didn't like her and started calling her fat. It horrified me that kids could be so cruel at such a young age.

[BlessedMom]

So very sad and heart wrenching.

Edited November 15, 2011 by BlessedMom

[BarbecueMom]

I lived near this girl's town until I was 10, and my dad and 12yo and 8yo brothers still live there. Just awful. The bullying in high school is so much easier to deal with - less than four years and you can leave it behind. It's so much harder in a small town with another whole lifetime to go.

 

I wish we could heap public shame and criminal liability on the parents who raise these bullies. If your dog kills someone, you go to jail. If your child taunts a little girl until she kills herself, you should bear some of that responsibility. I can't say what I'd recommend for the bullies themselves, as it would probably get me banned.

[Scarlett]

I lived near this girl's town until I was 10, and my dad and 12yo and 8yo brothers still live there. Just awful. The bullying in high school is so much easier to deal with - less than four years and you can leave it behind. It's so much harder in a small town with another whole lifetime to go.

 

I wish we could heap public shame and criminal liability on the parents who raise these bullies. If your dog kills someone, you go to jail. If your child taunts a little girl until she kills herself, you should bear some of that responsibility. I can't say what I'd recommend for the bullies themselves, as it would probably get me banned.

 

I know. I just want to scream, 'WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE KIDS?' I just don't understand all the meanness.

[Sparkle]

So, so sad. Poor little girl :angelsad2: I wish her mom had agreed to homeschool her or looked into a charter school or something. It's just tragic that a 10 year old felt so persecuted that she would kill herself. Kids can be so mean.

 

ETA: It sounds like Ashlynn's mom was considering homeschooling, and told Ashlynn they would talk to the principal, but Ashlynn killed herself before she could. This article has more info.

Edited November 15, 2011 by Sparkle