It was around those very first times I went up to my teacher to tell her what kind of things my classmates were putting me through on a daily basis that I remember her giving me the ultimate solution to every one of my problems. "You need to stand up for yourself more." It always struck me as an odd piece of advice, especially when it was coming from a trusted adult who was supposed to be there to help me do just that – to stand tall and fend for myself. Because the thing that gets overlooked so very often in this conversation is the fact that children should NEVER have to be the ones to keep themselves safe from abuse and violence. "But kids need to learn the way the real world works–" No. No, they don't. They will learn that well enough when they've grown up into adults. If you try to justify any sort of child abuse with this rhetoric – that the world is a cruel and unjust place and kids need to learn that sooner or later – I am begging you to stay away ...