(http://image.theoaklandpress.com/storyimage/OP/20180317/NEWS/180319664/AR/0/AR-180319664.jpg&maxh=400&maxw=667)
The children at school would call A?layah names and make fun of her braids, the texture of her hair, tell her she was ugly and that nobody liked her, Weatherspoon said. She entered the third grade last fall and the bullying appeared to escalate. She would call from school and ask to come home complaining of headaches and stomaches, he said. She would tell her parents she didn?t want to go to school anymore.
It wasn?t until after her death that Weatherspoon said he realized those were signs that her treatment was affecting her mental health.
The family never approached the school about the bullying, because he said they had no idea the extent of the emotional damage it was doing to A?layah. Likewise, the school never called home about the bullying because it was never witnessed or reported.
?Our Waterford school community is deeply saddened by the death of one of our students. It?s been a very difficult time for our district, particularly our Cooley families and staff,? Rhonda Lessel, director of school and community services and spokesperson for the district said in an emailed statement.
?We take accusations of bullying and harassment very seriously. We rely on the support and cooperation of all parents, students, and staff to report any incidents of bullying so immediate action can be taken. At no time were any bullying allegations brought forth to the Cooley principal and/or staff by the student?s parents, the student, or anyone witnessing incidents of bullying.?
Waterford School District utilizes multiple, nationally recognized anti-bullying programs including the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program, The Leader in Me program and Mindfulness, according to Lessel.
At Cooley Elementary School, students participate in a cross-grade program with kindergartners to fifth graders called the Cooley Crew. Every student is assigned to a crew which meets monthly to discuss anti-bullying, friendship and conflict resolution.
http://www.theoaklandpress.com/general-news/20180317/in-wake-of-9-year-olds-suicide-waterford-father-urges-other-parents-to-talk-with-children-about-how-they-are-feeling-and-what-they-are-thinking
https://twitter.com/FredTJoseph/status/975727385168564224
The stats in this thread are so sad.
QuoteData showed suicide rates among black boys ages 5 to 11 have doubled in the past two decades, while rates among white boys of the same age decreased.
QuoteAmong children 5-11, 36.8% of suicide deaths involve a black child, whereas that rate was only 11.6% of deaths among early adolescents 12-14.
:'( :'(
Smdh. That's sad.
How in the fuck do children have suicidal thoughts omg
This is so saddening.
A damn 9-year old should NEVER have suicidal thoughts, let alone commit the act.
Sum ain?t right
What kind of parents don?t go to a school to defend their 9 year old from bullying
And if they didnt know the extent thenhow do they know she killed herself because of the bullying?
So which is it they didn?t know or didn?t care?
Am fuming
But I don?t usually care bout stuff like this
What?s happening to me?
:diddraispoot:
A nine year old committing suicide doesn't sound realistic at all
Somebody killed this girl
Quote from: ANIMMAI on March 20, 2018, 09:23:11 AM
A nine year old committing suicide doesn't sound realistic at all
Somebody killed this girl
!!!!!!
Sin' I think those stats are kinda skewed on both ends tbh
all those percentages.... I'm thinking more so Jon Benet Ramsey with a suicide cover-up
Quote from: ANIMMAI on March 20, 2018, 09:23:11 AM
A nine year old committing suicide doesn't sound realistic at all
Somebody killed this girl
I just can?t imagine Lil sis wanting or knowing how to do this
Smh
You might be right
QuoteOn Jan. 4, her younger brother found A?layah hanging from her brand new bunk-bed with a leather belt around her neck. She died two days later. She was 9 years old.
Quote?We were going to go out to eat that day to talk about everything,? he said. ?She did it that morning.?
A?layah?s family had tried to talk with her about the bullying and her mental state on several occasions, her father said, but his otherwise healthy and happy daughter always told them she was okay.
?I had asked her before if she needed to talk to someone and she would say ?No daddy.? I think she was embarrassed. And then on New Year?s Day, she said she really, really needed to talk to me,? Weatherspoon said.
Over the winter break before A?layah?s death, she had been spending more time alone, distancing herself from her family. Weatherspoon said he felt something was wrong, but could never have imagined she was hurting to the extent that she would take her own life.
?It?s too late for her, but it?s not too late for someone else?s kid. Talk to your kids. As parents, we can think everything is okay and it?s not. A little girl that was full of life is gone.?
ok guys!!!!! .... my spidey senses can't be the only ones rattling right now :uhh:
this is WEIRD! at the very least
very sad
Quote from: M'Baku on March 20, 2018, 09:28:05 AM
Quote from: ANIMMAI on March 20, 2018, 09:23:11 AM
A nine year old committing suicide doesn't sound realistic at all
Somebody killed this girl
I just can?t imagine Lil sis wanting or knowing how to do this
Smh
You might be right
!!!!!!
from 2012 to 2014 I watched Law n Order SVU like nonstop
and alot of them started off like this
I bet the detectives are looking at the father
these are quotes from him
QuoteWeatherspoon said that in the end, he isn?t placing the blame on anyone?s shoulders for A?layah?s death.
?You have got to have that dialogue, to allow your kids to just talk about themselves. Ask them the tough questions, ask them if they?re being bullied in school,? he said.
?If we had known the type of environment our child was in, if we had known she was feeling this way, we could have taken her to get proper care.?
but you had said ...... that she was sad and you were taking her out to eat to "talk" about her condition that afternoon, but she killed herself that morning?
:butim16robert:
soooooo ..... did you know something was wrong... or you didn't dad?
:ummwhat:
I hate this world.
The world we live in
Smh
Poor baby. Kids can be so cruel.
Can't wait until AI takes over and kills us all.
Quote from: Paradiso. on March 20, 2018, 09:25:53 AM
I?m usually numb when it comes to these stories. It?s very unfortunate but it?s like sensory overload for me.
What child this young thinks about or knows how to commit suicide?
honestly these new netflix shows and shit kinda glorify it in a way
I?m really not surprised. Kids ?grow up? a lot faster these days
Quote from: herbie on March 20, 2018, 09:30:41 AM
And you have to take into consideration what they could have been exposed to. What does the parents allow them to watch? Hear? Do they have mobile devices? Access to the internet?
Those are questions I'd ask before I say she was murdered.
!!!! That?s what I?m saying. Most kids have, and know how to operate phones and iPads by age 3-4
rip
sumthin doesnt sit rite wit me tho
Quote from: herbie on March 20, 2018, 09:15:22 AM
This is why I'm slow to judge Black women who intentionally go out of their way to have mixed bvys and mess.
Look at the shit some of them have to go through starting from childhood.
It makes sense that some of them simply don't want their child to experience what they had to go through. Not even about self-hate, it's about that motherly instinct of protecting their child.
And these parents should have alerted the principal. But maybe the daughter wasn't really communicating how intense the bullying was.
Until they realize that doesn?t automatically equal ?good hair?. this girls Mother in the picture looks mixed at the least herself and yet she was still teased for her own hair.
Also, I wonder if it were non black kids making fun of her braids and hair texture.
This is sad.
Quote from: 1RIG on March 21, 2018, 04:27:03 AM
Quote from: herbie on March 20, 2018, 09:30:41 AM
And you have to take into consideration what they could have been exposed to. What does the parents allow them to watch? Hear? Do they have mobile devices? Access to the internet?
Those are questions I'd ask before I say she was murdered.
!!!! That?s what I?m saying. Most kids have, and know how to operate phones and iPads by age 3-4
!!! I work in a children?s hospital and these kids definitely know how to commit suicide and often times make several attempts. I see it DAILY. We should also take into consideration the imagination and how deep it can go. Sometimes we all find ourselves at some point thinking of things that we have no idea how the thought crossed our mind. A child?s imagination runs wild!
Quote from: VirgoMind on March 21, 2018, 05:19:38 AM
Quote from: 1RIG on March 21, 2018, 04:27:03 AM
Quote from: herbie on March 20, 2018, 09:30:41 AM
And you have to take into consideration what they could have been exposed to. What does the parents allow them to watch? Hear? Do they have mobile devices? Access to the internet?
Those are questions I'd ask before I say she was murdered.
!!!! That?s what I?m saying. Most kids have, and know how to operate phones and iPads by age 3-4
!!! I work in a children?s hospital and these kids definitely know how to commit suicide and often times make several attempts. I see it DAILY. We should also take into consideration the imagination and how deep it can go. Sometimes we all find ourselves at some point thinking of things that we have no idea how the thought crossed our mind. A child?s imagination runs wild!
Yea, kids know damn near everything and see everything/soak it all in. I know i did as a kid
We don?t give children enough credit