October Is Bullying Prevention Month
Thursday, October 19, 2017
National Bullying Prevention Month each October is a nationwide campaign founded in 2006 by Pacer's National Bullying Prevention Center. The goal is to encourage parents, schools and communities to work together to stop bullying and cyberbullying practices by increasing awareness of the negative impact of bullying on children of all ages. Unity Day is October 25th!
Over 30% of school-age children reported being bullied in 2016. That is a staggering figure considering that many children do not report being bullied.
Bullying can be verbal, physical, through social exclusion and through social media. According to the Center for Disease Control, students who are bullied are more likely to experience low self-esteem, feel isolated and perform poorly in school. Bullying can leave devastating and long-term effects such as anxiety and depression.
Each one of us can help to erase bullying in our schools by teaching our children kindness, acceptance and inclusion. Start by reading "Don't Be That KID! At School" to your children or students. Discuss the KID's behavior in each scene and contrast it to what the other kids are doing. The "self-reflection" scene provides a wonderful opportunity to begin a dialogue on proper character traits and how to achieve them.
The "Don't Be That KID! At School Resource Guide" will give you lots of meaningful activities to foster kindness, respect and the importance of making and keeping friends.
