Child safety at school has become quite worrisome for parents across the country. With growing gun violence and incidents of bullying, parents have increased their cooperation with the school management, law enforcing authorities and community, to protect their children from any potential harm. To tackle the growing insecurity at schools, parents, different sections of society, and departments of the government have come together for the safety of children.

One of the most important initiatives was taken by the National PTA and U.S. Department of Education. The two conducted different seminars and meetings in which students, parents, teachers, and community members participated to discuss safety rules in schools. However, parents have gone the extra mile to ensure the safety and protection of their kids at schools.

Gun violence

According to a survey conducted by Common Sense Media and Center for American Progress, 75% of parents believe that due to America’s ‘culture of violence’, easy access to guns, and media violence, it is becoming very difficult for them to protect their kids. Therefore, parents have decided to take the matters in their own hands. CNN reported a mother in Florida has contributed $11,000 for private security at her children’s school. In other cases parents are actually looking towards homeschooling as an alternative. 

Parents believe that the media is playing a negative role in advertising guns in a manner which attracts teens. Also, teens romanticize about using guns by watching them in the hands of their favorite celebrities, in movies and in popular culture. A report published in New York Times said that there has been an increase in advertisements where gun manufacturers are marketing products to teenagers. In one such ad, a 15-year-old girl is shown holding a semi-automatic weapon.

However, there are other reasons which make a teen or adult resort to the barbaric act of gunning down children in schools. Some of the most common reasons are: the mental condition of the perpetrator, domestic violence, bullying and sometimes 'just for thrills'.

Bullying

Gun violence is not the only way of bringing harm to the children at schools. From junior level to high school level, bullying has been a common factor which has brought devastation to the lives of kids in America. Studies suggest that millions of children are bullied everyday – from mild, verbal to physical bullying. In cases when bullying reaches an unbearable level, the bullied have at times taken drastic measures to end the torture by taking their own lives, or that of the bully. This usually happens when the bully is completely cornered and finds no help or escape.

Cyber bullying has taken up the place of physical bullying these days. Teens are particularly the targets and perpetrators of this menace. Putting up intimate pictures of girls to shame them, or harassing defenseless boys and LGBT youth online has led to a number of suicides and killings.

Parents have to be aware of their teens’ activities and friends. They should be vigilant about any signs of moods swings or depression in their kids, which is the first indicator of things going wrong in their lives. Through proper communication and support, parents can help their teens come out the difficult phase and move on with their lives.