Bullied Child Forced to Eat Worms from a Trash Can, Mother Reveals

A few years back, in 2015, Geraldine*, Raphael’s mother, shared the distressing story of the school bullying her son had faced since elementary school. The ordeal began in first grade when, as she recounts, “older kids forced him to eat earthworms during recess. Then came the hitting, the humiliation, and the insults. They threw his glasses away, tore up his drawings, and even locked him in a trash can!” Initially, it was older children who tormented him, but eventually, his own classmates began to join in.

Prior to uncovering the whole truth, Geraldine noticed a shift in her son’s demeanor. “Raphael became very anxious, melancholic, sometimes had tantrums, and was always worried, although he was naturally introverted,” she noted. Despite his love for school, his grades began to fall, and he lost interest in studying, eventually developing digestive issues. “To be honest, I never once thought of bullying! We knew something was wrong but couldn’t pinpoint it. We never imagined that the place we sent our son to every day had become a living hell for him. Whenever we asked him about his change in behavior, all we got was silence,” she explained.

Raphael’s parents discovered everything one evening after yet another “interrogation.” “At age 9, he broke down and opened up to us in a flood of tears. He had been holding it in for so many years! He told us he was unhappy, didn’t understand why he was alive, and wanted to die. We were devastated,” said Geraldine. At the time, their son was seeing a child psychiatrist, whom he had never mentioned any of this to.

Geraldine believes the bullying started because her son was different from the others. “He’s a hyperactive, dyspraxic, and gifted little boy, passionate about Greek mythology and science. He never had friends who shared his interests… He was a ‘different’ boy from others his age. The few children who still talked to him turned against him simply because he was ‘treated’ (for his hyperactivity),” she said.

After Raphael confided in them, Geraldine and her husband approached the school. Raphael’s teacher and even the principal were unaware of the bullying. “We spared no one, as our anger was overwhelming. We couldn’t understand how it was possible for the school staff to have noticed nothing when everything was happening right under their noses. Initially, we wanted to move him to another school, but that proved too complicated. Since we reported the bullying towards the end of the year, and the bullies were moving to middle school, the principal considered the problem resolved with Raphael’s upcoming entry into fourth grade,” added his mother. Indeed, that year went relatively well, without major issues… until fifth grade.

The problem resurfaced, this time with three classmates. “Once again, Raphael didn’t tell us anything. We keep explaining that our role as parents is to protect and support him, but he prefers to keep his problems to himself. I also think he’s ‘ashamed’ of not being able to stand up for himself. He sees this last year of elementary school as the end of his ordeal. Next year, he won’t be going to the same middle school as the other kids,” she mentioned.

Indeed, his parents have enrolled him in a private school to give him a “fresh start.” Despite everything he has endured over the years, Raphael harbors no anger towards his bullies; he wants to move forward and “doesn’t want to be mean in defending himself.” For the first time, the young boy has made a friend, which is perhaps the greatest reward of all!

*Interview conducted in 2015. Names have been changed.