Not to take these measures to prevent bullies?

[DomesticDisgrace]

This is something that comes up quite a lot.
People saying it's selfish for people to do x, y or z because their children may be bullied. AIBU and selfish to think this is a crazy way to think and it plays into the hands of bullies and panders to them!

For example, I had a big debate with a friend when Tina Malone had a baby at 50, my friend's argument was that the poor child would be bullied (I fully accept there are other valid arguments against having a child so late but pandering to bullies shouldn't be one of them!), I on the other hand thought it was amazing. The same arguments have been had for same sex couples and I just can't comprehend why we would focus on "fixing" the things that cause bullying rather than fixing the bullies and making it unacceptable.

The other day another one of my friends was telling me that because she lives in a block of flats in the inner city, her daughter absolutely has to have the latest in technology, clothes etc (it really is unbelievable, iphones at 9 and new brand name clothes every other week) or else she would be the laughing stock. Honestly I can't believe my friends attitude, she thinks it's ridiculous but claims I just don't know how it works in flats.

Same goes for giving children wacky names, while they might not be everyone's cup of tea, I hate hearing "Oh they'll be bullied" because I hate this notion that we should edit ourselves in case of bullies!
Don't get me wrong, while I'm extremely liberal it does boil my blood to see people purposely going out of their way to be wacky and prove how open minded they are.
I'm talking about actively going against what you really want for fear of bullies.

There is world of difference between naming your child something daft and giving them an unusual name.

OP - I agree with you. When I was a kid, my parents didn't have much money and we were frequently told we couldn't have everything we wanted because as a family we couldn't afford it. Yes, I got stick in school for not having XYZ - sometimes it was teasing, sometimes it was bullying, but now I appreciate that giving your children everything they want is not the right way to go and, frankly, the people who accepted me for being me at school, not because I had the same stuff as them, were the true friends and the people I have kept in touch with since then.

Almost everyone I know who had a really "out there" name changed it as soon as they were old enough to make the choice.

George Osborne was originally Gideon. Zowie Bowie couldn't wait to change his name as did the Zappa children. Several friends of mine (I'm that age) gave their children Tolkein or hippy names. Most of them changed them. I taught a couple of Ziggys, they don't call themselves that now.

When I was a teacher some children were teased or even bullied for the choices their parents made.

Make unconventional choices for yourself, not for your children. They may not have the confidence to carry it off.

Yes and no....

No you shouldn't make life choices to avoid been bullied but yes do think if your actions are going to risk your child been bullied...Making a child stand out as different is not helpful for them...If as a teen they don't want to follow the crowd that is their choice..

Think about what your child is like...Most children my sons age 6/7 just want to fit in and yes I do help my son do that...that doesn't mean he can do everything his friends does or gets something because his friends do.

My two boys stick out like sore thumbs - but it's their choice to do so!

When they were little they wanted to look like their mates and have the same sort of stuff, which was fine. Now they rather revel in having different hair and different clothes, which is also fine. Their lives, their choices!

I don't think it's fair to make a point about how non-conformist you are ( and I'm well weird, trust me! ) when it's someone else whose going to be actually doing the non-conforming!

"Make unconventional choices for yourself, not for your children. They may not have the confidence to carry it off."

This describes my childhood. I didn't have the confidence to be a lentil weaving hippy when I was 7. I do now, but I am 55.

What are we defining 'wacky names' as? I mean, there's unusual or rare names, then there's Jeremy Kyle type 'wacky names' which tend to be contrived or bastardised American made-up names, rather than just uncommon.....

Anyway, YANBU.

The other thing is that's its all well saying you're giving your children the confidence and the emotional tools to deal with bullying.
But I can guess you aren't, there aren't tools against bullying unless you are talking about removing the bullies (ie half of the school)

I did a great job at pretending to my parents that I was happy confident & cool because they put the pressure on me to do it.
I would agree with my dad on how stupid the clothes were because I was trying to impress him, whilst wishing I could have them.
After the 3rd time of asking and being told 'why would you want that, this is what you should have' I would just agree with him.

I cringe desperately when I hear or read parents telling their children 'witty' comebacks to bullies too, because they are going to make it worse for themselves just by listening to their parents, the same parents are usually the ones bragging that their children don't watch t.v that other kids watch & they don't listen to pop music.

I just think its selfish, I had fuck all to talk about with other kids because my parents wanted me to be more cool.

If you're an unconventional person, don't sneer at your child's choices / limit them just because they are conventional.

If you're a conventional person, don't sneer at your child's choices / limit them just because they are unconventional.

I've seen it both ways tbh.

Sleepyhead says it well

Not to mention in around 100less sentences than I could.

Re. bullying, in my experience children learn bullying from the significant adults in their lives, as often as not it permeates from the head teacher down through the school system. Due to my short experience as a substitute teacher is several different schools, I choose my daughter's school on the ethics of the head teacher and it was wonderful.

Unusual names: I gave my daughter an unusual name and the most common name in the world, in case she didn't like my first choice. She insisted on using her unusual name and has now given her own child an unusual name.

As for buying designer labels to avoid bullying, that is a hard one, but what a clever marketing ploy.

I was bullied for my accent
I was bullied for my quite ludicrous middle name which I have now eradicated from every piece of important paper apart from my Birth Certificate (because I cannot change that)
I was bullied because my mum wore her slippers to walk round to the shops.

I'm in my late 40s and TBH , I was a bit .
Why give me that name?
Why not put a pair of shoes on?

Pales into insignificance now.

"Sleepyhead says it well"

I agree

Fashionable and good looking children are bullied too. Buying brand name clothes will not guarantee your dcs will not be bullied. Being good looking can create jealously.

I think it is down to personality and confidence. I was bullied at school - called ugly/frigid to name a few. I was definitely not the ugliest girl in my year. The bullies saw that I was weak and played on my flaws. My female peers had flaws that could have been picked up on.

I think you are right, Thereishope, I think I was bullied in school because I reacted badly to being given a nickname, thus revealing my weakness.

YANBU! You can't second-guess what someone may be bullied for, as so much depends on the child's confidence and so many other factors.

I think that, as a parent, you have to be very careful not to try too hard to prevent bullying, as there is a fine line between not letting your kids be bully-fodder (i.e. giving them a name like Fanny or Dick) and sending the message to them that being accepted by others is of utmost importance. I have one friend that said her kids couldn't learn musical instruments 'cause they might get bullied as only nerds play instruments, which I think is ridiculous. You just can't second guess what someone could be bullied for was well.

I was given a hard time when I was 11 because my family had a red car and my Dad wore suits. I was also made fun of because my Mum played squash. Within a year that had stopped though, as I became more confident, not because my family changed the car or my parents changed their clothes and hobbies.

OTOH I know a 8 year old boy who always wears girls clothes and has since he was about 3. People have said ad nauseum that his parents should stop him dressing how he wants because he'll be bullied, but that terrible bullying has yet to materialise and he's a very self-assured little boy.

You can't second-guess what someone may be bullied for

So why do you then go on to say you shouldn't let your children be bully fodder by calling them Fanny or Dick? That is taking measures to prevent bullies and thus you don't actually agree with what the OP says.

You're right, owl. There is, of course, a chance that someone might be called Fanny or Dick and never be given a hard time about it. I remembered after posting that there was a boy at school whose surname was Dick and no-one cared, whereas another girl, Jane, was made fun of because of a character in Neighbours called Jane. Again, it can't be second guessed I suppose.

(And sorry to anyone whose children are called Dick or Fanny, those names sprung to mind after a recent read of Enid Blyton)