Author | Permission to Use Info
Our amazing Teen Advisory Board from Kidpower of Colorado Springs has created a very moving, 5-minute video about bullying that is likely to break your heart and inspire you to action. Seeing the faces and hearing the voices of these exceptional young people stating what bullying is and the impact it has had on their lives is tremendously powerful.
This is a video we think all parents and all teens should see. The realistic language makes this film not appropriate for children under 11 – but parents of kids of any age will find the facts important and the stories motivating.
Please share this video with the teens and adults in your life.
Think about and discuss how to take action to stop bullying and teasing with everyone, everywhere. You can:
- Pay Attention. Notice hurtful comments, gesutres, looks, pictures, or writing.
- Speak Up. Know how and when to tell people firmly, clearly, and politely if what they say or do seems disrespectful to you.
- Reach Out. Let someone who has been bullied know you care. Find people who share your values about respect.
- Leave. Sometimes the best answer is to vote with your feet! If a situation is unsafe and cannot be fixed at that moment, know how to leave in a way that is calm, aware, and confident, rather than passive or aggressive.
- Stay in Charge of Your Own Actions and Words. Know how to manage your emotional triggers. Make a commitment to communicate respectfully, even if you are annoyed, sad, mad, bored, or frustrated.
- Get Help. Find caring adults who will take responsibility for finding solutions to bullying problems.
- Be Persistent. Remember that change does not happen overnight, and people often react negatively if they are interrupted or feel criticized. Be prepared to persist even if others don’t listen or get upset.
Contact Kidpower if you need resources for using these skills in your own life – or how to teach and practice them with others, especially children and teens.
Let’s work together to give adults and kids the tools to prevent and stop bullying everywhere – at home, at school, in sports, at the park, with friends, at play, at work, at the store, in the media, through our mobile phones, on the Internet, and in our neighborhoods.
CONGRATULATIONS to Kidpower of Colorado Springs and their Teen Advisory Board!
Published: July 21, 2011 | Last Updated: July 13, 2012
Irene van der Zande, Kidpower Founder and Executive Director
Kidpower Founder and Executive Irene van der Zande is a master at teaching safety through stories and practices and at inspiring others to do the same. Her child protection and personal safety expertise has been featured by USA Today, CNN, Today Moms, the LA Times, and The Wall Street Journal. Publications include: cartoon-illustrated Kidpower Safety Comics and Kidpower Teaching Books curriculum; Bullying: What Adults Need to Know and Do to Keep Kids Safe; the Relationship Safety Skills Handbook for Teens and Adults; Earliest Teachable Moment: Personal Safety for Babies, Toddlers, and Preschoolers; The Kidpower Book for Caring Adults: Personal Safety, Self-Protection, Confidence, and Advocacy for Young People, and the Amazon Best Seller Doing Right by Our Kids: Protecting Child Safety at All Levels.
