Hello Parents,
October is Bully prevention and awareness month, and we believe in raising children that are both kind and strong!!
Every year in October (one month into the school year) schools, and parents notice a drastic uptick in bullying. The reason is simple…students have settled into their new school year routine and the perpetrators have had a month to analyze, and isolate their selected targets based on their classroom, and immediate social environments.
At Keiko Dojo we take this issue very seriously, and firmly believe every child has the right to a safe learning environment at school, at home, in the playgrounds, and our neighbourhoods. Children, can’t learn when they are scared!!!
Parents, we see very little and get told very little of what really goes on in the playgrounds, in the hallways at school, and behind the scenes. We probably only really know of about 20% of what goes on, the other 80% is hidden from us. Here’s why….. Children tend to be reluctant to tell their parents. We all have to look carefully for the tell-tale signs that our child may be bullied, because even just one incident can destroy a child's self esteem for the rest of their life.
But here is the good news. Standing up to a bully can be a huge confidence and self esteem builder!
It is extremely empowering when a child can stand up for themselves and say "no" to something they know in their heart is wrong. Even better, once a child knows they can stand up for themselves they cannot help but stand up for others. This will shoot their confidence and courage out the roof!
This may be a bit surprising to hear but we alone, cannot stop bullying, only with the help of our children can we out an end to this. While we can do everything to support them, like responsive adults and a good reporting system, it is really the kids that have to stop it. Just remember this key - bullies only need two things to survive: "Silence" and "Secrecy"! Once either of those two elements are taken away they cannot exist!
As parents, one our biggest fears is having our child abducted from a playground or any other public area. It surely is every parent’s worst nightmare. Every parent has read or seen on TV someone going through the gut wrenching tragedy of having their child taken from them and put themselves in the shoes of the other parents and what it would be like to have our child abducted. Tragic, and frightening!
Well parents……We are going to be addressing this too!!
As part of our comprehensive Bully awareness modules, we will also cover abduction prevention for our Dragons and Ninja students. We call this our Tricky Tricksters!!! People who may not be what they appear to be, with bad intentions towards your child. We are going to educate not only your children, but you as well. Pay close attention to the scenarios we do for every class….They may save you and your child one day.
Have an amazing week
Sensei
Keiko Karate – “Actually we do make Ninjas and Superheroes here………………we turn kids into Ninjas and we turn their parents into their superheroes