A father has spoken about the painful moment he realized his son was keeping score of how many times he was a victim of bullying at his school. Matthew Beard, who hails from London, was horrified to find out that his son was already being verbally and physically bullied just a week into high school, and he was tallying it up on his hands.
The heartbroken dad has taken to social media following the revelation, warning other parents about the dangers of bullying and calling for schools to come down harder on bullies and their parents to be fined, according to Manchester Evening News.
Beard said his son has been at high school for over a week, and he has made a record of how many times in the last two days he has been verbally or physically bullied on his hand. He was bullied 21 times, with Beard saying it was heartbreaking what had happened to his son.
Hundreds of people provide support to Beard and his teen son
Beard added that his son wanted to show them how often it had happened in two school days. He said you just don't know what goes on, and you expect your kids to be safe at school and hope that all of it will sort itself out.
Hundreds of people rushed to reply to Beard's worrying post, as reported in Birmingham Live. Jo wrote to Beard that he has already jumped the first biggest hurdle by talking about it with you, which many don't. She added that she hopes the school will do something about it. She ended her message by sending Harry lots of love and positive energy.
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Bullying cases rising in the U.K.
Lily told Matt she is a teacher; when she worked in schools, you would not believe how much happens. She said that the HOD or safeguarding leads know more often than not, yet they are scared of the culprits. She added that more is needed to be done, making her blood boil.
Philippa told Matt it was awful, and she hoped his son was doing ok. She added that surviving school feels like one of her biggest achievements. She said they don't do enough about it and often suggest the victim change, so they don't get bullied. She added that they need to punish the bullies and stamp them out!
Charity Ditch the Label conducted a study of 2,000 people in 2019, finding that a fifth of young people had been bullied in the past year. Three-quarters of those bullied said bullying had affected their mental health, the Daily Mail reported. According to the study, 62 percent were bullied by a classmate, and 37 percent were abused by someone they did not know.
