A Morris County mother is touring the state to warn parents and students about the dangers of bullying.
October is Bullying Awareness Month. Dianne Grossman spoke at a school in Scotch Plains Tuesday evening to tell the story of her 12-year-old daughter Mallory, who took her own life last year after suffering from extensive bullying.
“I think people see if it can happen to Mallory, they know their child is no longer safe,” Grossman says.
Grossman told parents to empower their children through empathy and kindness. But she also tells parents of children who are being bullied to document everything.
“I’m going to teach them how to have a successful documentation conversation with their school,” she says.
Grossman has said that she felt that Copeland Middle School, Mallory’s school, didn’t do enough to stop the bullying her daughter experienced.
Grossman also told the parents about the dangers of social media. She says that her daughter was bullied and berated by other girls in person and through text messages. They'd sent her nasty screenshots from Snapchat.
"Social media is their coffee shop. It's their bowling alley. It's their mall. My advice is that the mall closes at 9 p.m. Your social media should have time limits. It's should close at a certain time,” she says.
She also says that parents shouldn’t allow their children on social media platforms that promote anonymous behavior.
“So Instagram, it's not anonymous. It doesn't disappear, versus Snapchat, which advertises ‘Post here because it disappears,’” Grossman says.
She says that telling one’s children to get off social media may be uncomfortable, but she says that it is not nearly as uncomfortable as planning their funeral.