Chloe Leal
It is time to end bullying once and for all
We were able to sit interview Anita and discuss bullying, it’s effects and how to deal with bullies in our lives.
By Chloe Anne Leal
Anita Telle has a mission: To teach acceptance and love to children ages 4 – 9 so they will grow up to be amazing, supportive and loving teenagers, immune to peer pressure and bullying. Anita has written three books on the effects of bullying, her latest book “The Ultimate Anti-Bullying Solutions Guide: The Sure fire way to STOP Bullying NOW!” crystallizes her mission and her story into a handbook for people who want to be part of the solution to bullying
What advice would you give parents who are dealing with their child be bullied at school?
Talk to your child’s teacher, he/she might not even know it’s going on. Mostschools today has an anti bullying policy, the school might have a specificprotocol of intervening. Make sure you are clear about what took place,when it happened, who was involved, let them know if this is an ongoingthing or an new incident.Follow up with your child and teacher to make sure the problem stopped, ifit is continuing, request from the teacher or school administrator that ameeting is set up between you and the parents Of the child that is doing thebullying.Fighting back is often exactly what the bully is looking for, the bestadvice you can give your child is to walk away and seek help from an adult.
Do you think bullying is isolated amongst adolescents or does bullying not discriminate? ( i.e bullying is seen through any age group)
Unfortunately, bullying continues into adulthood, and even into nursinghomes. Last year I was invited to speak at a nursing home where the oldfolks, was quite nasty to each other. Statistics are telling us that in theUS, seventy percent of workers are reporting that they are being bullied atwork, more and more business owners are realizing the enormous effectbullying can have on their business. In a culture where problems arediscussed, management are open to implementing changes, there are lesslikelihood that bullying will be a problem.
What advice would you give to parents in creating a successful life for their children especially in today’s society?
The most important gift we can give our children is helping them developsocial and emotional skills, study after study shows clearly that preparingYour child for a healthy future and an overall good life, you need to teachthem social skills.Teach your child self respect and self esteem, When your child has feelingsof self worth they are less likely to be bullied.Also, Teach your child to set boundaries, to understand that being assertiveis not the same as being aggressive.
Where do you think a child’s aggression stems?
Study after study shows that children who live in an emotional andaggressive environment are more likely to copy the behavior they arewatching play out, than children who do not live under such conditions.Another big factor is playing violent video games, watching violent Tvprograms. Children play out the aggression they observe. Garbage in, garbageout? NO, garbage in, garbage stays.
Have you personally been affected by bullying and how did you overcome it, what advice can you give anyone being bullied today?
Yes, the reason I got so passionate about getting my message of acceptanceand kindness out there, was that the issue was too close for comfort. That’swhy I started writing books.The advice I can give to someone who is being bullied, is that the bestthing you can do for yourself, is to seek out help. There are statisticsafter statistics stating that bullying does not only make your lifemiserable in the NOW, the feelings and pain follows you for years to come,so go out there and find someone you trust, that you can share yourchallenge with.Another thing is to always remember that there isn’t anyone in the wholeworld that fits in with everyone, we are all born with differentpersonalities and interest. This sounds very obvious, but it is not, manyteens and adults continue to put pressure on themselves while alsobelieving, that it is a fact that they have to change themselves to be likedby others. NO, you are good enough just the way you are.Find and seek out friends with the same interest , sense of humor, andpassion as yourself, it is not about how many friends you have, rather thequality of your friends, will they be there for you? Also, know that you arenot alone, there are many people just like you, don’t ever think that youare the only one with your particular problem or question.Try to start every morning with positive self talk, find five things youare grateful for, write them down, you will notice a change in your mindset.This is very effective.
“When the day comes and we choose to look at each other as brothers and sisters — as humans — that’s the day change will prevail. “
Anita Telle
For more information about Anita and her story check out her website:www.anitatelle.com
