It’s anti-bully week across the country and MAC want to do their part. We strive to help people feel less like victims and provide the skills and traits that can help someone control the path they take.
It’s never nice to see a victim of bullying and I’ve seen a few, thankfully I’ve never witnessed a victim of extreme bullying first hand, but as you may have seen from the story of the 6-year-old girl who eventually ended up in hospital, this shows that even very young children are targets of relentless harassment and bullying.
One of the main problems surrounding bullying is also the same problem surrounding any other form of attack.
Well, if you haven’t guessed it already, it’s because most people do the ostrich effect and just bury their heads in the sand, saying or thinking things like “oh, it’ll never happen to my child/me”.
Did you ever stop to think that it has already most likely happened to you AND your child? Your child might not even tell you, thinking that “oh its not that bad” or even worse “no one would care anyway”.
WHY DO THEY BULLY
Why do bullies bully? Because they think they can. Because they think they can get away with it. Because they think you or your child won’t do anything to stop them. Because they’ve bullied someone else before and gotten away with it. The unfortunate truth is that most of those are correct in many cases. People don’t know what to do and so often accept themselves as victims.
The difference that training can make
Imagine an untrained person is like allowing someone who has never driven a car to drive your brand-new car in rush hour. That’s like an untrained person in a confrontation with a bully. They rely on luck and the reluctance of the bully to viciously attack them.
SAE it method
S – Scream
A – Attack
E – Escape
This can be as simple as making noise, pushing someone away and running off. Everyone can do this. Training gives you and your child the understanding of how you may feel, the feeling of being frozen on the spot, or thinking if you pretend you aren’t there it’ll go away. Let me ask you a question. Do you really want the only option for your child to be to shrink into themselves and hope the bully goes away?
So give yourself and your child the tools for the future, it’s as easy as saying yes I will.