HUMBLE, Texas – Eisha McKinney says her son came home from Ridge Creek Elementary School with a bruised and busted face back on October 28.
She says she got a call from his teacher, after school hours telling her another child had pushed her son to the ground earlier that day.
“I asked her why hasn’t no one else reached out to me,” McKinney said. “She didn’t say anything.”
She says after a couple of days, her child’s symptoms got worse.
According to medical records she provided, she first took her son to the hospital on Nov. 3 for a swollen upper lip and a bruised head.
Her records show she took him again on Nov. 8, where he failed his vision screening and was diagnosed with post-concussive syndrome.
“Why does my son have a concussion at the age of 5?” McKinney questioned. “What is going on in these schools?”
We asked the district why the mother wasn’t immediately notified.
“In this case the teacher called the parent,” Jamie Mount, Chief Communications Officer Humble ISD said. “It is District protocol for the nurse to call. So, the nurse should of called.”
The district says the protocol has now been emphasized to the nurse. However, they say the injuries reported does not match what was observed on the campus.
“He’s now having vision issues,” McKinney said. “A concussion is really serious.”
She says she’s keeping her 5-year-old son home from school until there is a reasonable safety plan for her son. The district says they are hoping to work with the family.
Senior clinician, licensed marriage and family supervisor Pierre Matta says if you believe your child is dealing with conflict or bullying the first step is to pay attention to changes in your child’s behavior.
“If you’re seeing consistent patterns like they’re not sleeping well, they’re not eating, they’re angry all the time,” he said.
Matta says if your child does open up to you with an issue - keep calm.
“You want to avoid too [many] extremes,” he said. “You do not want to minimize your child’s behavior changes or if they report they’ve been being bullied, you want to take that seriously.”
Then come up with a safety plan — teach your children to speak up for themselves, respectfully, but assertively to let someone know their behavior is a problem.
“This is the idea of setting a boundary and then maintaining a boundary by giving a consequence,” he explained.
Bottom line Matta says try empowering your child.