Sticks and stones...

...everyone knows how this one ends. This is terrible, terrible advice to give a child.

I often wonder why children are told to bear what as adults we would find intolerable. In what avenue of life would anyone out of elementary school bear incessant teasing, mockery, or verbal cruelty? Nowhere. Except maybe tabloid journalism. But I digress.

Why then do administrators, teachers, and parents allow this? Children who cannot temper their tongues deserve to be disciplined as much as children who can't control their fists. Frankly, verbal abuse can leave far longer lasting scars than a shoving match during a basketball game. If my child was being teased, for being such an awesome stud at life, no doubt, you can be damned sure I wouldn't tell him to suck it up (if it goes beyond good natured camraderie/teasing ... there's a difference between being a "crybaby" and being the subject of merciless hostility). Nor would I tell them to take matters into their own hands (unless they were certain they were going to win, and it was one on one ... and away from the school). I'd be taking it up with the school. And they'd better not shrug it off as "kids being kids", as my response would be "well, I'm just a lawyer being a lawyer" as I serve them with a lawsuit.