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Tip #1, Share Your Story
“Vulnerability is the birthplace of connection and the path to the feeling of worthiness.”
Brene Brown
We cannot expect of our children, what we are not willing to give ourselves. The willingness to be vulnerable is not a sign of weakness; it’s a sign of true strength, self acceptance and empathy.
Being vulnerable, and sharing your experiences of bullying and how they affected you, will allow and encourage your child to do the same. Many children suffer in silence, too afraid or embarrassed to speak up. Breaking the silence is the first step.
Keep those vital lines of communication open, and reinforce to your child there is no shame in being frightened. Not only will this improve the communication and connection between you and your child, you’ll be the proof they need that it does gets better.From this safe new place of acceptance and relatability, you and your child can begin to discuss their feelings, and potential strategies for your child to stand up, speak up and avoid further bullying.
On March 27th School Heroes Unite starts recruiting heroes south of the border. I have been given the honor of speaking at The Hero Round Table, a conference dedicated to the cultivation of heroism. It’s the TED or Idea City of heroism. This genius and uber important conference is the brain child of Matt Langdon. He annually travels over 9,000 miles, from his home in Australia to Flint, Michigan, USA, the birth place of The Hero Round Table.
Early in 2013 Matt reached out to me. Our programs share a similar mission, and through the magic of Google he became aware of the work I was doing up in Canada with School Heroes Unite. I will be the first Canadian to speak at the conference, but definitely not the last. The Pro-Heroism movement is definitely picking up speed in Canada, with real life school heroes like Travis Price and David Shepherd. Their response to the bullying of a fellow student was with a demonstration of solidarity. Thus, Pink Shirt Day was born. Travis and David are the embodiment of School Heroes Unite. Travis and myself will both be speaking at the next Hero Round Table, September 19th & 20th.
Speakers at the March 27th Hero Round Table will include David Rendall (The Freak Factor), Matt Langdon (The Hero Round Table) and me, among others! This shortened half day conference, which aims to fill a 2,000 seat theatre, is in promotion of the larger annual Hero Round Table which takes place September 19th and 20th, 2014 (tickets are still available at www.heroroundtable.com).
The coalition for heroism is strong. Bullying will continue to diminish, as everyday heroes continue to step up and unite.
