Hug a Bully!

 So much of our media today is flooded with the increase of awareness around bullying in our schools.  What used to be a few names called in the school yard has turned into viral videos exposing  our children to hate on the internet.  With YouTube and Facebook usage at an all time high, children find easy access to commit Cyber bullying, and do not necessarily see the long term harm in posting their comments for all to see. 

Malcom Smith of the University of New Hampshire’s Cooperative Extension Service says some studies show that up to half of all public students are subject to bullying.  Smith also states that he believes children in school today are the “meanest ever”.  

It is becoming more and more apparent that for many children, the saying, “sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me”, is not true.  For eighth-grade Connecticut student Alye Pollack, daily life at Bedford Middle School involves being tormented and called names by her classmates.  She turned to YouTube to get her message out about her experience.  (Watch Alye’s video here.)

For many children the relentless teasing and bullying by other classmates causes depression, or even worse self-injurious behaviors such as cutting or the unfortunate reality that some take their own life unable to deal with the teasing, name calling and harassment.

Smith says that repeat bullies appear to have a deficit in social learning, and many are even missing the basic values of kindness and manners.  He believes that we can all fight bullying by teaching values such as respect and compassion

Research demonstrates that children who receive healthy, nurturing touch are less aggressive.  Implementing programs in school, such as Peaceful Touch, can be the safe introduction of healthy touch children need to become more compassionate, global citizens.

Even with just the simplest acts of kindness, we teach our children how to behave and act around others.  Take some time today to hug your kids and tell them you love them.  If words hurt this much when they are harmful, a little nurturing touch and kind words may just go a long way towards making a compassionate impact!

Tags: bully, bullying, children's massage, cyber buylling, healthy touch, nurturing touch, peaceful touch, pediatric massage