Horrified father realises son keeps tally of bullying on his hand
Horrified father realises pen marks on his son’s hand show the number of times he has been bullied at his new school
- Matthew Beard from London said his son had been at his new school for a week
- The pen marks on his hand showed he had been bullied 21 times in just two days
- The father-of-three called it ‘heartbreaking’ and called for bullying to end
- A study in 2019 found that a fifth of young people reported being bullied
A father was horrified when he realised the pen marks his son had drawn on his hand were a record to show the number of times he had been bullied at his new school.
Matthew Beard from London said his son had been at the high school for just over a week but had been bullied 21 times in the last two days alone.
Matthew’s son had suffered verbal and physical abuse from others at his school, prompting him to keep a devastating tally of the incidents on his hand, reported Birmingham Live.
The worried father-of-three said: ‘It’s heartbreaking. Schools need to come down harder on bullies.
‘You just don’t know what goes on and you expect your kids to be safe at school.’
He added: ‘I’ve shared this because I think it’s a powerful photo.’
Matthew Beard from London was horrified when he realised the tally marks on his son’s hand (pictured) were the number of times he had been bullied in just two days
In 2019 a study by charity Ditch the Label of 2,000 people found that a fifth of young people had been bullied in the past year – and three-quarters of those bullied said it had affected their mental health.
62 per cent were bullied by a classmate and 37 were abused by someone they did not know.
Matthew posted the picture of his son’s hand on Twitter, as hundreds of people rushed to the replies in support.
Jo said: ‘By talking about it with you he’s already jumped the first biggest hurdle which many don’t.
‘Let’s hope the school will do something about it! Lots of love and positive energy.’
Jay tweeted: ‘As a father as well my blood boils when reading this.’
Lily Agg, a teacher, commented: ‘When I worked in schools you wouldn’t believe how much it happens. More needs to be done and now!’
Philippa added: ‘That’s awful Matt. I hope he is doing ok. Surviving school feels like one of my biggest achievements.
‘They don’t do enough about it and far too often suggest the victim changes so they don’t get bullied. They need to punish the bullies and stamp it out!’
Matt’s post received hundreds of replies on Twitter as people offered support and advice
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