How I Uncovered My Daughter's After-School Bullying

Solution

I'd been using FamiSafe's basic features since Sophia got her first phone, but I'd never tried the one-way audio monitoring. Since phones are banned during school hours, I focused on after-school times when she was at tutoring and drama club. On Tuesday evening during math tutoring, I heard the tutor sigh and say, "Girls usually struggle more with geometry. Don't worry, it's normal." My blood boiled. On Thursday afternoon at drama rehearsal, the director snapped, "Sophia, you're slowing everyone down again. Can you just focus?" That's when I realized—my daughter wasn't struggling. She was being torn down by the very adults supposed to encourage her. I sat Sophia down that weekend. "Honey, those comments aren't about you. They're wrong, and they're unfair," I told her. Then I made calls. I spoke to the tutoring center and requested a different instructor. I met with the drama club advisor and explained what was happening. The tutoring center assigned Sophia a patient, supportive tutor. The drama director had a serious talk with the instructor. Slowly, Sophia came back to life. She nailed her role in the end-of-term play. Her math grade climbed to a B+.