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Quote of the Week
"Often the right path is the one that may be hardest for you to follow. But the hard path is also the one that will make you grow as a human being." -- Karen Mueller Coombs
Talking To Kids About Preventing Bullying
"Want to talk with kids about bullying prevention? Start with kindness.
It can take a long time before kids feel comfortable talking to their parents (or any adults) about bullying they have experienced, if they ever do. And kids who are doing the bullying may never share it with their parents, or even know that their behavior is considered bullying. Parents play an important role in opening up these conversations, helping kids understand what bullying is, and how to find help and stand up to bullying when it happens.
While conversations about how to respond bullying are important, it is also critical that parents talk with kids about how to prevent bullying from happening in the first place. Prioritizing kindness and empathy helps kids build strong relationships that are grounded in understanding and respect. Talking about and modeling how to be kind to and responsible for others contributes to communities where caring and a commitment to the greater good is the norm. In these communities, mean and cruel behavior will be less frequent and will not be tolerated if it does happen."
As National Bullying Prevention Month gets underway in October, we offer this article by Harvard School of Education's Making Caring Common Project, which shares specific actions that parents can take to support their children to prevent bullying. [read article]
Reading Corner
 Title: The Juice Box Bully: Empowering Kids to Stand Up For Others
By: Bob Sornson and Maria Dismondy
Ages: 4-10
Why? "The story is centered around a new student, Pete, who is using bullying behavior the first day of school. The other students observe this and intervene with kindness and assertiveness. "And, I'm not a bystander," Ralph said. "I don't stand by and let mean things happen." Nothing greater then reading a book with EMPOWERED kids in it.
"The Promise" is what empowers them to do the right thing when it comes to bullying. It's a pledge to stand up to bad behavior. The first line is, "I WILL speak up instead of acting as a bystander." Love it. One student asked me, "Do we have "The Promise" at our school?" We definitely have a pledge but it's not specific to bullying. Inspired me as the school counselor to get on it!
I also pointed out how, Pete, the new kid was using bullying behavior his first few days of school but kids didn't turn him into an outcast or label him for life. They all took "The Promise" and were committed to helping him become a caring classmate. They didn't judge him, even in the midst of a conflict."-- Amazon Reviewer
Recommended by Cubs Editors
Be The Change
Get some sidewalk chalk and hit the streets in your neighbourhood and especially near your children's school to write positive words or messages, which encourage kids to be kind to each other. For inspiration and ideas, watch this video to see how one mom started an initiative to prevent bullying by sharing kind messages through sidewalk chalk!
Recommended by Shari Swanson
Kindful Kids newsletter is a resource for parents who are keen to teach children about compassion and service. It reaches 4,026 subscribers. You can unsubscribe here.
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