Bullying still remains one of the biggest problems that our children face with one in five have reporting being bullied. As adults we think that teaching kids about bullying and asking them to report bullying is enough to stop it, and unfortunately that is not the case.

This is a very emotional subject, one of my most sought-after classes are my anti- bullying classes. If your children are being bullied on a regular basis, it can make you want to do things to others that would put away for life. I know what my instinctive reaction would be if one of my children were being bullied. I would go to war with the parents of the other child. But unfortunately, it is not that simple, unless you like prison food.

If this is happening at school your first port of call should be the school and the head teacher, and don’t be fobbed off with we will deal with it.

Many times the parents explained to me they had a few problems with a particular school bully, they visited the school and had a meeting with the head of the school. To their surprise, they had to listen to ten minutes of the head teacher explaining to them that the boy doing the bullying had issues and they needed to understand why it was going on.

As you can imagine this just started their blood boiling, there was them trying to sort out the fact their child was being tormented and made miserable at school, only to be told they should be sympathetic to the bully causing the problems, trust me this is not an unusual attitude for schools to take, many people including teachers opt for the easy politicly correct option, because their hands are tied down by the rules and regulations.

If you sit back in these situations nothing gets done. I’m not saying this is the way you should play it, but from my perspective it worked because their son was never touched or bothered again.

You can have all the school talks you want about bullying, you can get special guests in to have chats with the kids, but sometime the bully only understands one language and the people who don’t understand or don’t want to understand that, are not living in the real world.

So parents you can have 2 choices..

Option 1 is to carry on with the school policy and follow their guidelines till your child had to suffer some more and still things haven’t been resolved which cause your child to feel more depressed.

or…

Option 2 is to do something about it and invest in your child to build their mental and physical training to prepare for the real world.

So what can you do as parents to help your children to face bullying?

How about enrolling your child in a martial arts program?

Here are the benefits martial arts can offer for your child:

BUILD UP CONFIDENCE

• Bullies tend to pick victims they think are weak, insecure, or unsure of themselves. Martial arts help stop this by building up kids’ confidence —this can keep them from being picked on by instilling a sense of strength and confidence. Bullies are sometimes “looked up” to because others fear them, it gives them an elevated status. They seek out this status, as well as the attention they get for their bad behavior. Martial arts help prevent bullying by building up these kids’ confidence and self-respect, and they will no longer need to resort to bullying for attention or approval.

REINFORCE DISCIPLINE

• Victims of bullying can sometimes make things worse for themselves by acting out or acting in a way that draws more attention from the bully. Martial arts help stop bullying by teaching them the discipline to manage their behaviour so that it does not provoke or trigger a bully. One reason children resort to bullying is a lack of discipline at home. Martial arts helps prevent bullying by providing children with guidance and a consistent structure of discipline that helps them learn appropriate behavior.

LEARNING RESPECT

• Being bullied can hurt a child’s self-esteem and lead to a low self-image. Martial arts will help children have a positive self-image and respect themselves for their achievements. Bullies desire to be in control and like to control others. That is one of the reasons why they pick on or make fun of others. Martial arts help prevent bullying by teaching them the value of respect. Respect is the first value taught in the academy, and the children will use it inside the academy and learn to show respect to everyone.

MASTERING SELF CONTROL

• Victims of bullying may not recognise what kind of behavior triggers a bully to lash out. Martial arts help stop bullying by empowering these kids to control their own behaviours to prevent a negative situation from escalating into conflict. Kids who bully others can be impulsive and aggressive. Martial arts help these kids become more aware of their emotions, training them to control negative impulses and be in control of their bodies. 

 LEARNING SELF-DEFENCE

• Bullies pick victims they think will be easy targets. Martial arts classes help stop bullying by teaching children how to defend themselves. Children who bully others often crave power. They learn how effective it can be to use their power aggressively to control others. Martial arts classes help prevent bullying by constantly emphasising the importance of using our martial arts and never just for attacking.

If your child is suffering, then simply book your free trial at our Evolution Martial Arts and Fitness Academy and help empower your child…