Bullying - Part One

Bullying is an interesting subject when it comes to children. We have been watching bullying since her children were little and now we watch it occur in our nonprofit organization Teamwork Wins LTD.

One of our children in particular got bullied. Why did this happen? From our experience a major reason is the attitude of the person being bullied. Let's take for an example, a four-year-old wanting something from appear, wanting them to play or wanting a toy that their peers playing with. The child who appears to be the bully is no different than an adult who is a sales person and wants a sale so badly they will stop at nothing until they close the sale. The question here is will the buyer give in to the salespersons seeming aggression.

This same question can be paralleled with the child that is appearing to be bullied. Will the child be able to express what they want and say no I do not want to share my toy right now or will they give in and do with the bully wants? At this point is where the child decides unconsciously or consciously whether they are going to be a victim to the bully or are they going to be an individual could say what they feels and take a stance because they believe enough in what they want. This is not to say that a child should become aggressive themselves, although they do have the right to defend themselves. Inner feelings of a child that would assist in this would be feelings like, I care enough about myself and what I want to express myself and it is perfectly natural and fine for me to feel this way.

It is so very important for you to teach your child to respect themselves first and foremost and then to be respectful of others. If you teach your child to be respectful of others first then they will always come second and will become more susceptible to bullying. This does not mean that they should avoid the rules and avoid proper social behaviors. There is a fine line between social behaviors and respecting others before you respect yourself.

 Bullies use many different styles and techniques from yelling to the silent treatment to physical aggression. Bullies come in all different shapes and sizes from child to adult, from large bodies to tiny bodies. For example we have seen even the tiniest little child bully their parents in order to get their way.

At Teamwork Wins LTD we teach children and parents about expressing what they want and how to get it without becoming a bully. We also teach them what is acceptable from others so you won't ever appear or feel bullied. We work with both the bullied child and the bully both deserve the right to have a good and healthy life and it is so important that they both learn these skills.