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Is Your Child a Victim Of Bullying? Anti-Bullying Tips from a Whitby Karate Instructor
By Dr. Adrian Robichaud, Head Sensei, Durham Shorin Ryu Karate, Whitby, ON, www.whitbykarate.com

Every day it seems, we hear about bullying and the suicides as a result.  Violence is always possible and so these tips may save your child from suffering.

The statistics are alarming.  One in five children report being affected by bullying and between 14% and 19% report being victims of bullying.[i]  In a Canadian study published in 1997, involving 4,763 children from grades one through eight, 6% admitted bullying others, 15% reported being victimized and 2% reported being both bullies and victims[ii] Further research published in 2003 showed that 10% of boys and 7 % of girls bullied others and 17% of boys and 18% of girls were their targets.[iii]

Fortunately, there are ways you can help protect your child.  Because appearing insecure invites more bullying, the first thing to help your child is to teach him/her to assume a confident posture.[iv]  Confident posture is one in which his/her shoulders are rotated outwards by standing with the hands in a position with the thumbs facing forward, the chin parallel to the ground and the stomach muscles gently tightened.  Relaxed breathing also aids in projecting confidence as does looking far in the distance. 

Wearing a hat instead of a hood in the winter will help prevent loss of peripheral vision, which of course would reduce the likelihood of seeing the oncoming attacker.  Wear a high colored jacket done up to the top with the scarf hidden below the clothing rather than out in the open around the neck.  Having the scarf out in the open gives the attacker something he/she can use against your child to pull on or with which to choke.

Have your child choose familiar routes and whenever possible avoid cutting through poorly lit areas, back alleys or the yards of houses.  Also, have your child travel with other children or even better, an adult.  An extra set of eyes can deter a would be attacker from proceeding with an attack[v] as well as greatly increase the possibility of a yell for help being heard or at least one of the children getting away to get help.  One of the key elements in bullying is an imbalance of power[vi] and having friends around helps to reduce this imbalance.

Get your child a cellular phone he/she can use to call 9-1-1.  While this may not prevent an attack, or abduction, it may give the police a place to start either from a call or from the phones closest cellular tower.

Openly communicate with your child and provide a safe place for open communication.  Don’t rely upon the child’s teacher to catch it.  Teachers only catch 4% of incidents.[vii]  Often attackers/bullies escalate.  If you find out early on that, there is a potentially violent situation or bullying is already in progress you can intervene by contacting the child’s school and when needed, getting your child counseling.  In studying the Columbine massacre, the US Secret Service found that “the attacker ‘bullied, attacked, threatened or persecuted’ prior to the incident.”[viii]

Enrol your child in a martial arts program.  In my experience as an instructor and student, children in such a program exhibit greater self-confidence; self esteem, have greater focus and are less likely to engage in violent behavior.  Importantly according to Glew et al bullying occurs when, amongst other things, the “victim [is] unable to defend himself or herself.”[ix]

For more thorough information on bullying and how to prevent it you may wish to read:  A Look at Bullying in Canada by Heidi Angeles M.D., Heather Leonard M.D. Pediatric Residents, University of Alberta.  You may also go online to www.bullying.org.

Dr. Adrian Robichaud is the owner and head instructor of Durham Shorin Ryu Karate.  He has over 18 years of training experience and teaches students from five years of age.  He offers a free trial of two classes and you are always welcome to come and watch a class. For more information visit www.whitbykarate.com or email Dr. Robichaud at info@whitbykarate.com.