Bully Prevention
Dear Parents:
Nationwide, research shows that more than half of all school-aged children will be involved in bullying this year as a victim or a perpetrator with many more witnessing bullying acts on a regular basis.
Enrolling a child in traditional martial arts program is one of the best actions a parent can take to prevent bullying because it provides benefits such as: confidence, discipline, respect, self-control, leadership, stress relief, and self-defense. Here are some other examples of how traditional martial arts can help prevent bullying:
Bullies choose victims that they think will be easy targets. What makes a child an easy target? A child who seems weak, unsure of herself, or easily scared. Traditional martial arts training teaches children how to defend themselves allowing them to project a strong, confident image so they don’t appear to be an easy target to bullies.
Being bullied can lead to a low self-esteem. Traditional martial arts training helps students learn to feel good about themselves by reaching goals such as promoting to the next rank. Traditional martial arts training also helps children learn to respect themselves and others so others will show them respect in return.
Children who are bullied often report symptoms such as coughing, sore throat, stuffy nose, headaches, and stomachaches because they deal with such high levels of stress that it wears down their immune system. Traditional martial arts training provides a way for students to relieve stress through vigorous physical exercise.
Bullies often target kids who are less popular. So if your child has few friends, this social isolation could put him at higher risk of being bullied. Traditional martial arts training helps students develop confidence to make friends.
If you want to know more about bully prevention, you can download a free e-book called Bullying at School and Online for parents and check out the websites below:
education.com
PACER National Bully Prevention Center
STRYVE – Striving to Reduce Youth Violence Everywhere
olweus.org
www.stopbullying.gov
www.stompoutbullying.org
Voice Nation
You can also call the National Bullying Prevention Center at 952-838-9000.
We are pleased to share these resources with you as part of our continuing effort to stop bullying and enhance the safety of children in our community. No one deserves to be bullied.
Provided by:
Shihan Culver
