FORT MILL, S.C. — One mother says her child has been bullied and she wants other parents to understand how it affects him.

What You Need To Know

About 20% of students say they have been bullied in school, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Kids who are bullied can experience negative physical, social, emotional, academic and mental health issues

Kids who bully others can also engage in violent and other risky behaviors into adulthood

Lawanda Hutchison makes an effort to talk to her son every day after school. She asks how school was and what happened.

Her son is in fourth grade and she says he has been bullied at school several times. One day she says it was taken too far.

“My son came home and told me about a student leaving a death threat on his cubbyhole in the classroom,” Hutchison said. “I was devastated. I didn’t think anything like that could happen at school.”

She received an email from his teacher who said they were looking into it and trying to find out who left the note. A spokesperson for Lancaster County School says they have a zero tolerance policy against bullying, but could not confirm if they had identified who made the threat.

“I never thought someone would do that to my son, let alone a fourth-grader,” Hutchison said.

She said the bullying is taking a toll on his mental health. After school she often takes him to an arts and crafts lab. It’s their hangout spot during the week.

“It’s an outlet for him to talk to me because it takes his mind off whatever happened,” Hutchison said.

Hutchison wishes her son could feel this comfortable when he is at school, but the bullying makes him feel insecure. She hopes parents talk to their children about the importance of words and how they can impact another student.

“This is going to affect him the rest of his life, with low self-esteem,” Hutchison said. “He won’t want to make friends. Talk to your kids and tell them bullying is not OK.”