Four No-Fight Tips to Overcome Bullies
You can empower your child to respond with confidence and courage when faced with a bully. I think every child will experience some form of bullying during their childhood. Whether it’s subtle or extreme, bullying is devasting to a child’s self-esteem. Teach your child these four tips to boost confidence and courage to overcome bullies.
Speak Up!
Your voice is the first line of self-defense. Ask your child to list all the ways his/her voice can be helpful if a bully is approaching.
A voice can:
- Communicate boundaries.
- Escalate or de-escalate a situation.
- Yell for help.
- Build up or tear down.
- Express emotions.
Role-play with your child and encourage the development of their voice as a form of self-defense. Help your child choose the right words and correct tone of voice when communicating their feelings based on different situations. Teach them to be direct but not bossy, assertive but not aggressive. Begin with a calm voice, but as a situation changes, teach them it’s okay to be loud if necessary.
(As a self-defense instructor, I encourage children to be loud when counting repetitions in a warm-up exercise. For example, when doing jumping jacks, I will count 1-5, then encourage them to count aloud 6-10. Some children need to control their voice (tone it down, be loud without screaming.) Some children need to be encouraged to be loud. There’s something empowering about letting out a good loud shout! Create space to develop your child’s voice.
Your Inner Voice
A child’s inner voice might dictate the way they express themself outwardly. Talk to your child about the voice inside their head. If they believe things that are not true, give them affirming words to replace the negative voice. Share God’s voice (God’s Word found in the Bible) with your child. Read God’s promises to your child and encourage them to memorize and internalize and recognize God’s voice. What’s your favorite Bible verse? Read it out loud together.
Practice using your voice to speak kind words to each other.
Stand Up!
Taking care of your body is a powerful form of self-defense. Defend your body with posture and healthy habits.
Body language matters
Poor posture can make your child appear weak. Bullies seek victims who look weak. But strong body language can make them appear strong. Even if they don’t feel confident, they can still look confident by standing tall with proper posture.
The ole “place a hardcover book on your head” trick works to improve posture every time. Place a book on your child’s head and walk around the room keeping the book balanced. Make sure their head and eyes are up looking forward. Make a game out of this experiment.
Healthy Habits Matter
Good nutrition and exercise defend your body against obesity and strengthens your immune system to fight off germs. Personal trainers and nutritionists agree that a healthy body is 80 percent good nutrition and 20 percent exercise.
Here are four healthy habits to defend your body:
- Drink more water and less sugary drinks.
- Get enough sleep.
- Eat healthy whole foods and less processed foods.
- Exercise every day for at least 30 minutes and decrease screen time!
Back-Up!
Manage Your Distance
Prior to COVID, I spent a lot of time explaining “distance management.” Now, I say those two magic words “social distance” and children understand spatial orientation when it comes to the space between people.
Personal Space
Now that children understand the idea of “social distancing,” you can apply self-defense strategies to their personal space and safety.
Your personal space is typically the space inside your arm span. Extend your arms out in front of you. This is your personal space. When confronted with a bully or someone walking toward you, protecting your personal space will keep you safe (from germs and physical confrontation).
When your child’s voice is not respected, then your child will need to be prepared to defend his/her personal space. Roleplay by stepping toward your child. Teach them to keep their arms up while at the same time stepping back or around to maintain their personal space. Continue to practice a strong voice during the exercise.
If a person gets too close, your child can use their hands to defend themself. If they don’t want to use their hands, they can learn the push-kick self-defense technique. Request a free video to learn this skill at www.thegreatflip.com.
Keep this activity fun, playful, and empowering. Carefully balance on one foot and place the other foot just above your training partner’s knee. Now, push your partner away. If you don’t have a training buddy, carefully use your foot to push open a door. This is the push kick.
Power Up!
Bullying prevention is complex. Begin with those three tips and your child will experience confidence and courage. Add this fourth and final tip for a complete Bully Prevention Activity with your child.
Order My Anti-Bully Activity Book!
Benefits
This 24-page Anti-Bully Handbook (now in Ebook and Print formats) will help girls identify forms of bullying and give them the tools she needs to change the bully culture by engaging their whole self; body, mind, and spirit.
The Great Flip Anti-Bully Handbook features:
- A Bully Inventory
- Digital bullies
- Devotions: God’s Power vs. Girl Power
- Devotion: Three Ways to Plug into God’s Power
- Role-Playing
- Self-Defense Physical Activities
- No-Fight Self-Defense “Voice, Body & Distance.”
- Health and Safety Tips
- Two Online Self-defense Skills Video
- The Wrist Escape Video
- The Push Kick Video
The activity book can be done as a family activity or with a group of peers. It’s done best with adult mentors facilitating the activity to help the girls navigate the sensitive topic of bullying.
$14 for Print format – plus bonus FREE Ebook
$9.99 Ebook format only
CLICK HERE To Order
Want a free sneak peek before purchasing?
Click here for a free excerpt download.
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Click here to Learn the Top 12 Self-Defense Skills using The Great Flip videos and lesson plans!
To learn more about self-defense training and create an online martial arts experience at home, contact Jody Token, the creator and coach of The Great Flip, an online martial arts for ages six and up.
