Is your child being hassassed by bullies. Can Karate Help?
Released on = February 10, 2005, 7:52 am
Press Release Author = Art Mason
Industry = Education
Press Release Summary = Can karate or martial arts in Windsor, Belle River, Essex or
Tecumseh help your child overcome a bully problem?
Press Release Body = Is Your Child Harassed by Bullies?
(He or she may be – and you might not even know!)
Can Karate, Martial Arts, Tae Kwon Do help solve this problem?
Dear Fellow Parents,
Let me tell you about a kid I know named Tyler.
Tyler was usually enthusiastic and happy. His cheery disposition and bright smile
went with him
wherever he went. But when he began 4th grade, his parents began to notice some
changes.
Tyler was becoming more and more withdrawn. He often seemed uneasy, and less sure of
himself than ever before.
In third grade, Tyler was always eager to get outside to play after school.
Weekends were happily spent in family activities.
But now, Tyler stayed around the house, keeping to himself. He seemed reluctant to
talk about friends, school, or much of anything else.
Tyler’s parents didn’t know what to make of it…but they knew something wasn’t right.
A call to the school teacher was made. Tyler’s teacher, Mrs. Phillips, said, as
if Mom and Dad should have known about it all along, “He’s probably upset about Sam. Sam has been giving Tyler a hard time for quite a while now.” So there it
was.
Most parents have found their child in this situation before. As a parent, you
can’t help but feel angry, bewildered and totally unsure of what to do.
What I’m about to tell you next will seem kind of hard to understand? But if you
think back to when you were a kid, and recall how small you felt, and how big the world seemed, perhaps you can remember
Kids with bully problems feel ashamed.
Are you aware that most kids who are being bothered by bullies don’t tell their
parents? They just “suffer in silence.”
Because they feel embarrassed, they usually don’t tell anybody. Not their parents.
Not their friends. Not the people at school.
You can imagine what suffering this type of harassment is doing to their
Self-Esteem… And all the while, you don’t even know there is a problem.
For many kids, this is the first “grown up” problem they ever have to encounter.
And they keep the whole, disturbing thing on their own young, inexperienced shoulders.
And – even if you eventually do find out about it –
What are you going to do?
Chances are, you feel just about as unsure as Tyler probably does.
• Maybe you will call Sam’s parents, and talk the situation over with them? Reason
with them? Good luck. You see, there’s a reason why Sam is a bully. And when you eventually call his parents, you will probably see what that reason is.
Most likely, Sam’s parents will be defensive and uncooperative.
• Will you call the school? Probably. But, remember, school officials get these
calls all the time. Most teachers and administrators would like to help…but they
don’t have the answers, either. They will probably just remind you that if Tyler should
try to defend himself, he will be kicked out of school, right alongside the kids who
is the cause of the problem.
• You might encourage Tyler to stand up for himself; to defend himself. But you and
I both know that Tyler is probably no match for the bully. And, even if he was, what good will getting him expelled do (see above)?
• Besides – and this is important – do you really want to teach him that fighting is
the answer? I will tell you (and, remember, I have 20 years experience in the
Martial Arts), fighting is not the answer. If Tyler resorts to fighting this bully, there
is always a bigger, tougher bully waiting for him.
So – you do what parents usually do.
You tell Tyler to avoid Sam. And you unwittingly set into motion a series of
events that will have Tyler like running and hiding from trouble, feeling like a victim… feelings that could very well follow him for the rest of his life.
Or worse and I hate to even mention this…sometimes the “Tyler’s” of this world
responds to their anger and frustration by becoming the bully.
You lose, either way.
And so, of course, does Tyler. Does any of this sound familiar?
Believe me. I understand how you are feeling. After all, I’m a parent too, and I
understand how you feel. I also remember how I felt when I had to deal with the neighborhood “tough guy” at 10 years old. That’s why I started martial arts lessons– and, my problems were solved – without ever having to use any physical skills what-so-ever.
In coaching them…and in “raising” the other 20,00 or so kids we’ve dealt with over
the last 21 years as a martial art instructor, I’ve learned a thing or two about teaching children to handle these disturbing bully problems.
Now, read carefully. I’m going to tell you a secret.
If you understand what I’m about to tell you, you will have the “key” to resolving
this entire, frustrating situation.
The Secret: Some kids don’t get picked on at all.
That’s right. Some kids don’t get picked on – at all.
They don’t pick on other kids, either. They are free to enjoy themselves, to be
themselves…and it wouldn’t even occur to a bully to give them a hard time.
What I can do for you.
It’s pretty simple, really. I’m just going to take your child out of the group of
kids that get picked on – and put him or her in the group of kids that doesn’t get
picked on.
And, I’m going to do it without turning your nice child into one of those “tough
guys.”
That’s a big claim, isn’t it? After all, if I can really do what I say, not only
will this solve a sticky problem for you…it will place your child, once again, on
the road to a level of self-esteem that will empower him or her to do anything. No “victim”
mentality. No running and hiding.
No being ashamed of something that isn’t his or her fault.
So how does it work?
It will take about 15 minutes for one of my instructors to explain it to you. And,
I guarantee the answer will surprise you. I have locations around the Windsor /
Essex
county area including Windsor, Belle River, St. Clair Beach and Essex. Karate,
martial arts, can help your child overcome this problem, without violence!
Now, you may want to first try some of the alternative “strategies” I’ve listed
above – but I suspect you already have, and are just about fed up with having your
kid be pushed around.
So don’t wait. Just call my office at 519-967-0577, or email
info@thepeacefulwarriors.org and we will set up a time for your visit with a Master
Teacher.
If you call now you will receive, with no obligation:
1. A FREE private consultation of one of our Master Instructors
2. 2 FREE introductory lessons at The Peaceful Warriors' Martial Arts Institute,
with no obligation
We will be providing this as a community service for a limited time and have limited
capacity for this special program – so please call now to reserve your space.
Yours for Better Kids,
Master Art Mason
Founder: The Peaceful Warriors’ Martial Arts
PS. See what Karate or the martial arts can do for your child!
P.S.S Check us out on the WEB at http://www.thepeacefulwarriors.org or
http://www.karate-taekwondo-martial-arts-windsor-ontario.com
Study: Obese Kids More Prone To Be Bullied
May 03, 2004, 01:23:40 PM
Obese kids rate quality of life as low as cancer patients Overweight adolescents
are more likely than normal-weight children to be victims of bullying, or bullies themselves, a study found, bolstering evidence that being fat endangers emotional as
well as physical health.
The results in a study of 5,749 Canadian youngsters echo data from British research
and follow a U.S. study published last year in which obese children rated their quality of life as low as young cancer patients' because of teasing and
weight-related health problems.
While not surprising given the stigma of being overweight, the new findings
underscore the importance of enlisting teachers and schools in the fight to prevent
and treat obesity in children, said lead author Ian Janssen, an obesity researcher at Queens
University in Kingston, Ontario."Anybody's who's ever been on a playground would know" that overweight children are
among those who get picked on, Janssen said, adding that in some cases, that may lead the youngsters to become bullies themselves.
The study appears in the May edition of Pediatrics, released Monday.
Janssen said obesity rates in Canadian children tripled from the 1980s to 1990s and
show no signs of slowing down, similar to rising rates in other developed nations and in the United States, where 15 percent of school-age youngsters are obese and
increasingly plagued by related health problems. Nearly one-third of American children are overweight.
Social isolation
The toll on emotional health is just as worrisome, the researchers said.
"The social and psychological ramifications induced by the bullying-victimization
process may hinder the social development of overweight and obese youth, because adolescents are extremely reliant on peers for social support, identity and
self-esteem," the researchers said.
Their data is based on a national survey of Canadian youngsters, ages 11 to 16,
conducted in 2002.
Among normal-weight youngsters, almost 11 percent said they were victims of
bullying, compared with 14 percent of overweight youngsters and nearly 19 percent of obese youngsters.
About 8 percent of normal-weight children said they were perpetrators, compared with
11 percent of overweight youngsters and 9 percent of the obese children.
Obese boys and girls were more than two times more likely than normal-weight
youngsters to be victims of "relational" bullying -- being intentionally left out of social activities. Obese girls were about twice as likely to be physically bullied on a
weekly basis as normal-weight girls; among obese boys the risk was slightly lower
but still substantially higher than for normal-weight boys.
Obese girls were more than five times more likely than normal-weight girls to
physically bully other youngsters at least once weekly. Among boys the risk of being physically aggressive was only slightly increased, but they were more than twice as
likely to make fun of others and spread lies and rumors than normal-weight boys.
Cleveland child psychologist Sylvia Rimm, author of "Rescuing the Emotional Lives of
Overweight Children," said many schools with anti-bullying programs don't specifically address overweight youngsters.
Rimm said reducing bullying could help youngsters overcome their weight problems.
Bullying perpetuates those problems because it isolates them, and "the only thing left for overweight kids is food and television," she said.
Web Site = http://www.karate-taekwondo-martial-arts-windsor-ontario.com
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