Leaving a legacy a year later
Amanda Todd's YouTube video
about her struggle with bullying
may have garnered over 28 million
views, but it is her story her mother
Carol Todd is hoping people
will learn from.
A year has passed since Amanda's suicide in October 2012, and Carol Todd is speaking out on issues that plagued her 15- year-old daughter up until the end of her life.
“As a mother who has lost a child to something that's spread virally on social media and became so public, yes, it was hard, but I have to put that aside because Amanda's story and her message is so important and so strong that it resonates in the average family's life.
“We can learn so much from what she told us. We have to use it as a learning tool and not be afraid to talk about it.”
And that's exactly what she is doing; travelling and promoting awareness of issues such as mental health, bullying, cyber bullying and exploitation. Carol has created the Amanda Todd Legacy in the hope that kids and teenagers aren't pushed to suicide having struggled with bullying or mental health issues.
“I sometimes give my cell number so [the families I've met] can get in touch with me. There is this one girl, I think from Ohio, and I sent her journals to write her thoughts and showing it to her counsellor, because she finds it hard to talk about her feelings.”
“I will always encourage them to talk to their parents or school counsellor ... but if at 2 a.m. they are having some bad thoughts, and if I'm up, then I'm there.”
Amanda Todd's legacy has already helped some children in need. The legacy brought two bullied children together, uniting them in a bond only those who have been bullied can understand.
“In the audience [of a social media and sexual violence conference], there was this mum of a boy who has been bullied. I knew of someone where I lived in the Vancouver area who had been bullied too, and so we had arranged for this boy to go to Toronto last August to meet this other boy that had been bullied.” The meeting ignited a friendship between the two. “They spent a week going to ball games and doing other activities in Toronto.”
One boy's mother gave Carol the gift of a handmade bracelet with a snowflake on it.
The snowflake just seemed to fit. Carol's nickname for Amanda was Princess Snowflake, because of her princess nature. While writing a memorial for Amanda, Carol decided to dig a little deeper, looking up snowflake in the dictionary.
“It talked about snowflakes being unique and fragile individual and different. I just put it all together and all the people and kids in the world who are all individual and unique. No one deserves to be harassed or bullied because of their differences.”
Carol says we need to start taking the steps to prevent further tragedies like Amanda's by educating kids about social media and giving them the tools to use it properly.
“We have to make sure our kids are equipped to use it properly. If they aren't, maybe you have to take it away and limit them or put some restrictions in place,” Carol said. “But we can't eliminate it, it will never go away and if you do take it away there will be other sources to find it.”
Todd stressed the need for parents to open the lines of communication between their children. “We need to treat every person as individual and we have to deal with every issue as individual.”
With the snow fast approaching, Carol said, “If you see snowflakes in the air, I hope it triggers memories about what we are trying to do in trying to continue to promote awareness and the discussions about mental health, bullying, cyber bulling, exploitation and sometimes the learning challenges of kids.”
A year has passed since Amanda's suicide in October 2012, and Carol Todd is speaking out on issues that plagued her 15- year-old daughter up until the end of her life.
“As a mother who has lost a child to something that's spread virally on social media and became so public, yes, it was hard, but I have to put that aside because Amanda's story and her message is so important and so strong that it resonates in the average family's life.
“We can learn so much from what she told us. We have to use it as a learning tool and not be afraid to talk about it.”
And that's exactly what she is doing; travelling and promoting awareness of issues such as mental health, bullying, cyber bullying and exploitation. Carol has created the Amanda Todd Legacy in the hope that kids and teenagers aren't pushed to suicide having struggled with bullying or mental health issues.
“I sometimes give my cell number so [the families I've met] can get in touch with me. There is this one girl, I think from Ohio, and I sent her journals to write her thoughts and showing it to her counsellor, because she finds it hard to talk about her feelings.”
“I will always encourage them to talk to their parents or school counsellor ... but if at 2 a.m. they are having some bad thoughts, and if I'm up, then I'm there.”
Amanda Todd's legacy has already helped some children in need. The legacy brought two bullied children together, uniting them in a bond only those who have been bullied can understand.
“In the audience [of a social media and sexual violence conference], there was this mum of a boy who has been bullied. I knew of someone where I lived in the Vancouver area who had been bullied too, and so we had arranged for this boy to go to Toronto last August to meet this other boy that had been bullied.” The meeting ignited a friendship between the two. “They spent a week going to ball games and doing other activities in Toronto.”
One boy's mother gave Carol the gift of a handmade bracelet with a snowflake on it.
The snowflake just seemed to fit. Carol's nickname for Amanda was Princess Snowflake, because of her princess nature. While writing a memorial for Amanda, Carol decided to dig a little deeper, looking up snowflake in the dictionary.
“It talked about snowflakes being unique and fragile individual and different. I just put it all together and all the people and kids in the world who are all individual and unique. No one deserves to be harassed or bullied because of their differences.”
Carol says we need to start taking the steps to prevent further tragedies like Amanda's by educating kids about social media and giving them the tools to use it properly.
“We have to make sure our kids are equipped to use it properly. If they aren't, maybe you have to take it away and limit them or put some restrictions in place,” Carol said. “But we can't eliminate it, it will never go away and if you do take it away there will be other sources to find it.”
Todd stressed the need for parents to open the lines of communication between their children. “We need to treat every person as individual and we have to deal with every issue as individual.”
With the snow fast approaching, Carol said, “If you see snowflakes in the air, I hope it triggers memories about what we are trying to do in trying to continue to promote awareness and the discussions about mental health, bullying, cyber bulling, exploitation and sometimes the learning challenges of kids.”
