Happy October! This month we ask you to take a minute and think about how you play a key role in ending bullying. One of the keys to ending bullying is Education, knowing the warning signs, how to talk about it as well as how to help someone are all very important factors of ending bullying. Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school-aged children that involves an imbalance of power between whoever is involved. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time. What many people do not know is that both kids who are bullied and who bully others may have serious, lasting problems.
Warning signs can be noticed in children who are being bullied or who are a bully but they are vastly different. For children who are being bullied some of the warning signs could be unexplained injuries, lost objects, faking illnesses, changes in behavior such as appetite, difficulty sleeping and decline in grades. On the other hand, a child who is bullying someone, signs of that can consist of getting sent to the principal’s office, getting into physical fights, blaming others for their problems, not taking responsibility and or worried about their reputation/popularity. While these are some common signs that a child might be involved in a bullying situation, there are many more that education or guardians should be on the lookout for.
The next step in stopping bullying is how to get involved. With Empowerment Education, we teach students ways to recognize bullying situation and give them the tools to stand up for themselves or their friends. We teach them not to be afraid to ask for help, reaching out to a teacher, a friend, a parent, a sibling, a coach, or a mentor can be scary, but in the end if the situation will be resolved. If a child comes to you about a potential or current bullying situation, acting swiftly is important. If they came to you, they know that you are someone who they can trust and someone who can help. Helping can come in many ways such as making sure everyone is safe, defusing the situation, Identify the facts and work out the solution.
There are also four main types of bullying that can be encountered, Physical, Verbal, Cyber and social, with Verbal bullying being the most common. Any of these forms of bullying can occur in a variety of places such as school, traveling to and from school, practices, events, extracurricular activities, as well as online. In 2017, nationwide 20% of students have reported that they have experienced bullying from the ages of 12-18. Empowerment Education is working to give students the tools they need to take themselves out of harmful situations or help remove others.Teaching our key concepts of empowerment, confidence,self-esteem,resilience, and awareness gives students the upper hand on a bullying situation when the concepts are learned and embraced To start educating the children in your life request our 50-minute presentation and be a part of changing students’ lives in a positive manner.
