It Starts with Adults
Bullying is a big issue today with children and we have all seen the ad campaigns trying to educate them on how wrong it is. The scars left from being bullied as a child will last a lifetime, and can also produce an adult that is a bully. The old saying of "actions speak louder than words" is very appropriate to this situation.
We have all either seen ads for, or actually may have watched shows featuring children in competitions such as beauty pageants, dance or cheering competitions, and a new one that appears to be "teaching" young women to be ladies.
Although I have not watched them the promotional commercials show the adults exhibiting behavior that can only be called bullying. They are yelling at the kids to push them to be "winners" or the "best". Reducing a child to tears does not say "healthy competition" to me. I can only imagine what is being done to their self esteem in the process.
There are other competitions that are not only healthy, but are educational and encourage children to be the best that they can be: Odyssey of the Mind http://odysseyofthemind.com/ ; VEX Robotics Competition http://www.vexrobotics.com/vex/competition/, Intel Science Talent Search http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/education/competitions/science-talent-search.html, and many more. Even Lego has an engineering and robotics competition for children http://education.lego.com/en-us/preschool-and-school/secondary/11plus-mindstorms-education/competitions/. Any one of these produces a healthy competitive environment for children of all ages, and teaches them to work together as a team.
We need to do a better job of showing children how to treat one another. If we do not speak to one another, and to our children, with kindness and respect - if we bully one another - then we can expect nothing different from them. We need to encourage them to turn away from the negative images all around them and to focus on the positive. There are so many great role models for them to emulate and wonderful opportunities that they can learn from that will not only educate them, but perhaps propel them to great things in adulthood. Imagine what that will do for their self esteem, and for the world they live in.
What kind of message do you want to give to our children?
We have all either seen ads for, or actually may have watched shows featuring children in competitions such as beauty pageants, dance or cheering competitions, and a new one that appears to be "teaching" young women to be ladies.
Although I have not watched them the promotional commercials show the adults exhibiting behavior that can only be called bullying. They are yelling at the kids to push them to be "winners" or the "best". Reducing a child to tears does not say "healthy competition" to me. I can only imagine what is being done to their self esteem in the process.
There are other competitions that are not only healthy, but are educational and encourage children to be the best that they can be: Odyssey of the Mind http://odysseyofthemind.com/ ; VEX Robotics Competition http://www.vexrobotics.com/vex/competition/, Intel Science Talent Search http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/education/competitions/science-talent-search.html, and many more. Even Lego has an engineering and robotics competition for children http://education.lego.com/en-us/preschool-and-school/secondary/11plus-mindstorms-education/competitions/. Any one of these produces a healthy competitive environment for children of all ages, and teaches them to work together as a team.
We need to do a better job of showing children how to treat one another. If we do not speak to one another, and to our children, with kindness and respect - if we bully one another - then we can expect nothing different from them. We need to encourage them to turn away from the negative images all around them and to focus on the positive. There are so many great role models for them to emulate and wonderful opportunities that they can learn from that will not only educate them, but perhaps propel them to great things in adulthood. Imagine what that will do for their self esteem, and for the world they live in.
What kind of message do you want to give to our children?
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