Back when I was in 7th grade, I was punched in the face by a guy in the neighborhood. It didn’t hurt, but this was my first experience with physical bullying. I was shell-shocked and didn’t know how to deal with the problem. In turn, my dad put me in boxing.
Outside of the ring, I was never hit again.
Confidence is key. We can start building confidence in our children at a young age. This makes them stronger and more capable of handling a variety of situations beyond bullying. It all starts within.
These individuals give off a different aura and bullies tend not pick on them and if bullies try, these kids are better equipped to handle it. Confidence can be expanded by placing the child into things that the child is good at, or at least willing to explore. This includes sports, martial arts, crafts, board games, etc. Help them build a circle of friends surrounded by a common core interest. Naturally, confidence will be the result of this.
My good friend Kyle said it best. “I hate when people act like they don’t have options.”
This simple, yet complex truth, is something our children need to learn. Just because someone says something to you, you have options on how to deal with it. You don’t have to accept it, you can walk away, you can say, “and, so”, you can tell an adult, you have options! We need to instill a sense of agency in our children. They are not helpless, they can do something, they matter and they’re voice will be heard.
With empowerment comes courage. If one person stands up against bullying, then others will follow. This is the nature of almost any movement. We need to encourage our children to take a stance against bullying. Once bullying becomes socially unacceptable, like gay bashing, it will become a problem of the past.
I can’t stress enough that bullying is wrong and we should teach our children not to bully. At the same time, it’s naive to believe that the world is made of only sunshine and rainbows. We live in a broken world, so our children need to be prepared to deal with conflicts when they arise.
In the words of the late and great Frederick Douglas, “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”