Has your child ever experienced verbal taunting or other forms of
bulling? How did you handle that situation? Whether you've been
faced with this or not, dialoguing with your child about how to
handle it can be a little easier when you use good books to open up
the discussion.
My guest today wrote a book that would be an excellent resource for
this purpose. Listen to her talk about it at: http://www.NaturalMomsTalkRadio.com
There may be nothing we can do to completely shield our kids from
bullies, but we can empower them with healthy self esteem that will
help them stay emotionally safe when they're faced with difficult
people... something they'll face even as adults!
One way we can do this is to use praise in the right way. Instead of
taking over our kid's accomplishments, let them own it for themselves by
pointing out the character traits that they're showing by their
accomplishments.
For example, instead of saying "You're a wonderful artist!" we could
say, "The way you colored that picture shows a real eye for detail"
or some other statement that shows that we really SEE what they've
done.
We can be our child's advocate by reminding them of their successes.
As parents, we can be the keepers of the memories. We can act like
human scrapbooks. :) If our child is falling into "all or nothing"
thinking and says things like: "I'm so bad at math!", we can gently
remind them of the time they helped Dad build the swingset or helped
Mom double the cookie recipe for a party.
When our children behave in an altruistic or caring way, we can ask them
how they feel inside. Remind them that doing good things leads to a
sense of healthy pride, something they'll want to feel more often.
Spending one-on-one time with each of our kids is imperative. Giving
our kids our total attention lets them know they are important to us,
not only as our child, but as a person.
We may not agree with everything our children say and do. If we keep
in mind that they are growing every day, evolving and maturing into
adults, we won't overreact to their expressions. Even though we may
disagree, showing respect for their opinions will help them develop
a healthy sense of self that will help bully-proof them and make
them less susceptible to unhealthy peer pressure.
Your child's self esteem has much to do with their future outlook,
success in relationships and happiness. If we protect our child's
self esteem we'll be giving them a big boost in life.
Here is another resource to help give kids a confidence boost: http://moderncl1ck.com/z/5043/CD1813/
