When Your Worst Nightmare Becomes Reality: Protecting Your Children in the Face of Violence

There are few moments in life more gut-wrenching than receiving a call from your child, terrified and pleading for help because someone has pulled a knife on them. The shock, the fear, and the helplessness can consume you—especially when you’re stuck at work, unable to physically be there to protect them. Yesterday was a moment of absolute fear and I have never felt so powerless before in my life. 

For months, my children have endured relentless bullying. I have done everything right—reported it to the school, reached out to the parents—only to be met with silence and inaction. The school has told me on a number of occasions to tell my daughter to ignore the bullies. Stay away from them, don’t go where they are, etc. And now, the situation has escalated beyond cruel words and intimidation to something far worse: a real and immediate threat to their safety. My babies are terrified, and I am left wondering how to keep them safe in a system that has failed them.

I am so proud of Brooke for stepping into defence mode as it started by this older boy pinning her boyfriend against a wall and holding a knife to him. She stepped in and pushed him away and they were able to run and scream that he had a knife so the public was aware. She didn’t even think about there being a weapon it was just her in fight mode, she could have been stabbed as he turned his attention to her and began threatening her with the blade. This is not ok, in what world do we teach kids to pull knives on people? Younger people too, the kid who pulled the knife on my daughter and her boyfriend is 17 years old and in grade 12. My daughter is 14 and her boyfriend is 15.

This entire incident unfolded at the bus exchange in West Kelowna. The bully and his group of friends sat on the bus flipping them off and taunting them the whole ride down. This was premeditated and they had clearly been communicating with the attacker to ensure they would find my kids there. 

When they got off the bus the attacker jumped out of a vehicle and came after my children. Our youngest son Troy was with his older sister Brooke and her boyfriend, as they take the bus to school together. He is so shaken that he honestly thought he was going to die or see someone die. This is a real fear now and I have to find a way to get it out of his head that he will always have to watch his back.

The attacker was able to have a group of people track my children and communicate how to get to them, this is how well thought out this attack was. Now we have some serious trauma to work through. Parents should not have to worry about their kids getting stabbed and jumped. 

So, what do you do when the unimaginable happens?

1. Ensure Immediate Safety

If your child is in immediate danger, call 911. A threat involving a weapon is not just bullying—it is a criminal act. If your child is safe but shaken, still report the incident to the police. Having an official record is crucial for any legal or protective action moving forward. We called the police right away and had the child arrested.

2. Remove Your Child From the Danger Zone

If the school is not taking the situation seriously and the bully (or their older sibling) remains a threat, it may be time to remove your child from the environment—whether that means requesting an urgent transfer, homeschooling temporarily, or even pressing the school to expel the aggressor. Your child’s safety must come first. This is where it is getting tricky because I have called them, my husband has gone in and spoken with them, and now after all this it continues. The more infuriating thing is that after the teachers were made aware they still kept them in the same class and even tried to make them work on projects together. 

3. Hold the School and Authorities Accountable

Schools have a legal responsibility to protect students. Glenrosa Middle School has no control over the kids there and every time there has been an incident my kids are the ones in trouble or told to avoid the situation. How do you avoid a bully in the same school when they put them in the same class? How do you avoid a bully that speaks openly about harming you in front of the entire class and the teacher does nothing? If they are failing to act, escalate the matter:

• Demand a meeting with the principal and superintendent.

• Document everything, including emails, reports, and conversations.

• Contact the school board, your local education authority, or even a lawyer if the school refuses to act.

I am now demanding that every teacher gets told about the situation, gets held accountable for their actions and I would like to ask them how they would feel if it was their child in this situation. Brookes teacher has actually forced her to sit next to this boy while he is constantly bugging her, she makes a seating plan and when Brooke doesn’t want to sit beside him she tells her not to argue. This teacher also tried to make them work together on a project after he had threatened to harm her, consistently picked on her, and she has made it very clear that she is uncomfortable or scared. The bully will sit in class and get others to throw things at her, tells other kids not be friends with my other children and they have kept him in the same class the whole time. What is wrong with these teachers? 

They are now being made public to ensure we solve this problem. The only way to get anything done is to rally together and shine light on the problem!

4. Consider a Restraining Order

If the police are involved, you may be able to obtain a restraining order against the bully’s older sibling. A no-contact order can legally prevent them from being near your children, adding an extra layer of protection. We have a restraining order and witnesses, he will be going to court in May. 

This entire incident of him bullying her started because Brooke had turned him down. He asked her to fool around at first, said he liked her, then started being a pervert and asking her for nudes on Snapchat. He said things like “show me your boobs” and “take a photo in the bathroom of your ass, you can keep your underwear on if you like” and when she said no he started picking on her. Telling her she must have breast implants because she has developed. Saying she is a cracker (derogatory term for white person) who going to blow away in the wind because she is so skinny. Keep an eye on your kids social media people because Snapchat is sneaky and everything gets deleted afterwards. You can allow some freedom and let them have social accounts but keep an eye on what they do and who they do it with. 

5. Provide Emotional Support for Your Children

The trauma of being threatened with a weapon isn’t something that disappears overnight. Your children need reassurance, love, and a space to process their fear. Counselling, trauma-informed therapy, or even just daily conversations about their feelings can make a difference. My kids thought they were going to die, they feared for their lives. Now they are staying home for the remainder of the week and taking spring break off to be with the support of their family. 

6. Strengthen Their Defense and Awareness

While no child should ever have to feel unsafe, equipping them with self-defence knowledge can help them regain a sense of control. Enrolling them in a self-defence or martial arts class can boost confidence and provide practical skills to use in emergencies. I will be enrolling my daughter in self defence to keep her out of harms way. I will also have her carry protective gear in case of emergencies.  

Is it time for my kids to start wearing body cams? I will gladly put them on each one of them. 

7. Seek Community Support

You are not alone in this. Other parents, community groups, and even the media can be powerful allies in bringing attention to an injustice. If the school won’t listen, sometimes public pressure forces change. I am reaching out to the media, I am writing to the school, I have blasted it on Facebook (the only way I got a reaction out of the mom) If you or your child feels bullied or threatened please let me know. We need to stand together to combat this and let them know we are here for them, we will protect them, and this is not going to keep happening. How many suicides need to happen? How many brutal swarming and stabbings need to happen before someone like me loses it and takes matters into their own hands? They have made vigilante groups for pedophiles, now it’s time to take down the bullies.

8. Prepare for the Long-Term Fight

This is more than just a single terrifying event—this is a pattern of escalating violence. Until those responsible are held accountable, the risk remains. Stay vigilant, keep pushing for justice, and never stop fighting for your children’s right to feel safe. This fight will not end, kids are always going to find ways to hurt each other. But letting it continue is not enough and it’s time to squash it.

Final Thoughts

As parents, our worst nightmare is not being able to protect our children. But even when the system fails, we do not stop fighting. You are your children’s greatest advocate, and your love and determination will see them through this storm.

They deserve safety. They deserve peace. And you will make sure they get it.

I know she is not the only child being bullied, and there are so many others that need our help. Sharing this story and making the school and parents accountable for their actions might help to keep things moving in the right direction. The parents should lose custody of their children for raising such terrible human beings, the schools need to have a zero tolerance policy - regardless of skin colour, personal history, or gender. These bullies need to be punished and held accountable as soon as the incident occurs. Start expelling children, start pulling the parents out of work to deal with it, disrupt their lives the way they have disrupted their victims lives. We need to start putting these children in jail for their crimes and trying them as adults. Enough is enough.