5 Reasons Kids Get Bullied

5 Reasons kids get bullied (and how to battle it)

1. Statistical Bullying

   Let’s face the facts, bullying is not going away anytime soon. Time magazine’s most recent report about bullying states that 3.2 MILLION kids are bullied every year. Until something changes in our culture, this will continue. Being prepared to weather a storm, will always give the best chance to deal with that scenario. Talk to your child, not to approach them with fear, but with confidence to handle any situation. We find in our marital arts programs, we teach and prepare our students with the tools to on how to deal with tough scenarios.

2. Physical Differences

   This is what makes us unique, but for a bully, it is used as another verbal weapon. The underlying issue is never the physical difference, it’s the confidence of being who you are in your own skin. If a bully sees that you are uncomfortable by a statement, they will continue on. For a parent it is always best to lead by example. Be confident in who you are. Teaching kids through martial arts, they find out how to be CONFIDENT in themselves. They learn to be proud of who they are and what they can accomplish.

3. Academic Achievement

   To a Bully, it doesn’t matter what side of the fence you fall, on the scale of grades. If your child struggles or if they are the all star in class, they can be a target. Anything different is used to pressure or “make fun of” to change and break down the child. The worst part of this is lack of RESPECT the Bully has for those who battle to do their best. These are the kids who fight just to make it by, or the kids who work their hardest to ace anything at school. Bullies do their best to encourage them to give up, to break their will, and to break them down. According to Michelle Ree, former chancellor of D.C.’s public school system, tweeted a statistic that 160,000 kids stay home from school each day. As parents, we want to protect our children. There will be times where we can not be there. We have to teach our children how to stand up for themselves and PERSEVERE. We have to teach them the ability not to give up. For us at TX Black Belt Academy, this is HUGE in the martial arts, that we teach our students not only to stand up for themselves but NOT to give up.

4. Economic Status

   A child has no control over this, but a Bully will not discriminate. May it be the latest fashion, hand me downs, shoes, or if they have popular electronics. If a Bully can find a way to make your child not feel good about themselves, they again, will exploit the opportunity. How the Bully is addressed in this matter will effect your child’s SELF-ESTEEM directly. Teaching your child to be proud of where they come from, no matter where it is, keeps them confident in who they are, and where they are going. Knowing material items do NOT define who they are, is a great way to battle a negative comment over economic bullying. Build a self esteem so strong in your child, that will repel bullying off them, like water rolling over a rock. In our martial arts programs we teach the value of self esteem. We want every student to know how to feel good about being themselves.

5. Weakness

   Bullies prey on the weaker kids, not always physically, but mentally. A Bully usually won’t provoke a child who is confident, a child who walks with their chin up, a child who knows what to do and is prepared. They look for the easier targets.

   As a parent we give our BEST advice, education, and help to our children to build them. Through years of teaching martial arts, we know not every kid is the same, and they do not learn the same. We see this in siblings all the time, one is a natural type A personality, and sometimes the other is a type B.

   Teaching your child to be mentally strong is just the same as training muscle, they have to be used and repeated. Be a broken record. Repeat yourself, A LOT! Sometimes you think they may not be listing, they are.

   In our martial arts program we teach someone not only how to physically defend themselves and be prepared if they need it, but how to carry the mental STRENGTH they have to have to be successful.

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