Bullying has been a very popular subject lately. It seems like no matter where you look on the news or online, there’s an article about bullying. There’s no doubts that it’s a very serious subject, either. An incredible amount of teens are bullied in school, which can lead to depression, social-avoidance, and – in extreme circumstances – even suicide. This subject is absolutely nothing to be played with. Fortunately for parents and children across the country, there are measures that can be taken to prevent bullying from getting to any kind of extreme.
The first step is to recognize bullying. Bullying can come in many different shapes and forms. There is physical bullying, where a bully might pick on another child physically. They may push them, slap them, or force any kind of unwanted physical contact onto them. This is the most commonly known form of bullying, but unfortunately isn’t the only kind. The other ones often take a back seat to physical bullying, but it doesn’t make those forms any less of a terrible experience for the recipient of bullying. Another form is mental bullying. This is commonly dished out as a mental attack – name calling, verbal assaulting, etc. This form of bullying is no less effective in harming a child’s psychology. Unfortunately, this form of bullying goes unpunished more often then not. Schools just very rarely place a priority on this form of bullying, even though it’s very harmful for the recipient. Luckily, there are steps that can be taken to avoid and even prevent bullying.
Informing the staff or administration of the school as soon as the bullying starts is essential. Often times, the staff may be very busy and may not immediately recognize bullying then it starts. Informing the staff that there’s a problem they need to be aware of is a very important first step in preventing bullying. If the school refuses to take action or the bullying continues, it may be time for a new school or – in extreme cases – legal recourse that you can take. I’m far from a lawyer, so talking to a lawyer would be your best bet in getting these kinds of things taken care of. Private schools are another option, although a lot of people aren’t able to afford them.
Self-defense classes are another great way to raise self-esteem, self-confidence, and decrease the act of bullying. A student who is more confident about defending themselves is less likely to get bullied. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a fantastic way to create awareness of the body and make children confident in their movements. Most fights go to the ground, but for some reason, ground skills are rare amongst street fights. The person who has the least amount of experience in a ground fight is at a major disadvantage when a fight goes to the ground. If a child is confident that they’re going to be able to defend themselves should it come to a fight, it may never even get to that point in the first place. Remember bullying has a large part to do with confidence. Bullies very rarely target people with a lot of confidence and/or skill in self-defense or martial arts.
There are many other actions that one could take to avoid and prevent bullying. I would recommend that you look into your options and go from there. Often, there are many solutions to this kind of problem and looking at your options is the first step to recovering from bullying. Self-defense classes are a great option, so I highly recommend looking into them.
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