How to “Bully-proof” Your Child? Teach Them the Serenity Prayer
I just finished reading a NYTimes article by Estelle Erasmus titled “How to Bully-Proof Your Child“. The bottom line answer is provided by child psychologist Izzy Kalman who suggests that if a child is bullied they should “...treat the person insulting you as a friend rather than an enemy, and not to get defensive or upset.” The article offers several examples of how to apply Dr. Kalman’s principles, including this one:
Fielding a Rumor: “I heard from Tessa you cheated on the test.”
The Reflexive Response
“I didn’t. Tessa is a liar!”
“No, she’s not!
“She is! I didn’t cheat!”
“Everyone knows it’s true.”
“It’s not true!”
Mr. Kalman’s Approach:
“Really? Do you believe it?”
“No.”
“Good.”
Or, if the answer is “Yes”:
“O.K. If you want to believe it, how can I stop you?”
“You can’t. So I’m going to tell everyone you cheated. And you can’t stop me.”
“That’s right. I can’t.”
After reading this example, I was reminded of the Serenity Prayer ascribed to Reinhold Niebuhr:
Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
In dealing with the false accusation, the bullied individual is acting on this prayer: They accept the thing they can’t change— the accuser’s beliefs— have the courage to stand up to the accusation— but ultimately accede to the accusation because they see that changing the accuser’s mind is an impossibility.
From my experience, all bullying can be resisted in this fashion. A bullied individual cannot change the behavior of the bully on their own and they cannot change the bullying incident itself. The bullied individual, then, needs to have the wisdom to decide whether to seek the intervention of someone who CAN change things or to continue accepting the bullying.
Ms. Erasmus’ elaboration of Dr. Kalman’s theories reinforce the notion that the Serenity Prayer might be applicable across-the-board, as my italicized notes indicate:
Instead of having adults act like law enforcement officers against bullying, Mr. Kalman advises teaching children the following four facts:
1) The real reason they are being picked on is that they get upset when they are picked on. (i.e. they are not accepting what they cannot change)
2) They have been making themselves upset. (i.e. if they ACCEPT what they cannot change they will not make themselves upset)
3) Fighting back and acting defensive fuels the bullying. (i.e. IF they accept what they cannot change it will diminish the bullying behavior— in this case courage IS acceptance)
4) By not getting upset, the child wins, and gets the bullies to stop.
“The way to reduce bullying is to not punish kids for exercising their freedom of speech,” Mr. Kalman said. Teaching children that everyone is allowed to speak freely removes much of the power of the bullying and enables children to be their own advocates.
Bullying has been going on for decades… and trying to stop it by developing elaborate rules and protocols can be self-defeating. I’m with Dr. Kalman on this issue:
Mr. Kalman explained that when we punish kids for using certain words, it teaches them that words are very harmful. And when an adult punishes a child for saying something hurtful, it magnifies hostilities and takes the solution for fixing the issue out of the child’s hands.
“Nobody can guarantee their children a life without difficulties. If you protect your children from the social challenges of life, it weakens them,” he said.
Vote even if you think it doesn’t matter…. and be grateful you still can!
Network Schools - Wayne Gerseny to https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/04/03/magazine/thomas-piketty-interview u w B l.html?h I’ll smid=url-share the Is for 