10 Things Kids Should Know About Bullies

Bullies are the pits. They can really make life hard for children and it is hard to remember at times that bullies are also children. That’s great information if you’re a teacher who has a bully in her classroom but what about the kid to whom bullies seem to gravitate. Perhaps he’s smaller than the rest of the kids, maybe she has an outstanding facial feature that draws unwanted attention. Unfortunately we can’t follow our kids around

Bully Proof Your Child's Life

Bullies today sometimes take extreme measures to get what they want — whether that’s your child’s lunch money or his happiness. (A disturbing thought since many of us are sending kids back to school.) Just a few decades ago, the biggest problems schools faced involved curtailing gum chewing in class, stopping hallway kissers or hand holding on the bus. I’d say that as a nation, we’ve firmly left that standard well behind us. As long as families

Bully Free Kids Church

Social abuse or bullying, takes its toll on kids. Some children barely remember a bully encounter, for others, bullying shapes their lives for decades, even a lifetime. Constant bullying can greatly diminish a child’s self-worth and often has much deadlier results than a few hurt feelings. Kids’ church must be a safe place where kids can learn about God’s love and experience it. Fellowship and worship without fear of bullying are crucial. A bully-free kids’ church is

4 Ways to Reach Bullies in Your Church

There’s little doubt that bullying among children is significantly rising in the United States. The increase is so dramatic that the Centers for Disease Control recently issued a 2011 Fact Sheet describing the problem as a “form of youth violence.” This shocking escalation comes as no surprise to parents and guardians of school age children. Sad stories about teen suicides as a result of bullying or more prevalent today in our cyber social culture. Children without parental

Why Do Children Bully?

Bullies aren’t what they used to be. When I was growing up in the seventies and eighties, I earned names like “freckle-face” and “meatball.” Those labels broke my seven-year old heart but they are nothing compared to the words kids hear regularly today. According to a recent article by Focus on the Family, the old ideal of standing up to a bully for character-building can put your child in harm’s way. Vicious, violent scenes of children beating

You Can Help Preteens Fight the Bully Battle

The following is a guest post submitted by Jeff Land from Kids Ministry 101. To share your ministry ideas with our readers, just email me.  ~Tony K. When Jada’s mom called my wife, Abbey, she tearfully told her about how Jada had been on Facebook and suddenly started crying. When Jada’s mom, Julie, asked her what was wrong, Jada told her that several girls got into a chat session with her and started berating her after a

Bullying (Part III): 10 Ways Your Ministry Can Help

This post continues our series on childhood bullying. Part one promoted bullying awareness and part two offered ten ways individuals can get involved. This article shows ten ways your kids ministry can address the topic. Truth be told, the subject of bullying is something that we have never had to address before in our children’s ministry.  I have referenced it here or there in lessons, most often in a case study format, but that was the extent.

Bullying (Part II): Practical Intervention

Statistics report that one in three children are involved in incidents related to bullying, as either the perpetrator or the victim.  As a result, there is a strong probability that there are children in our ministries who are affected by the prevalence of bullying. This is part two in our series on childhood bullying. In our first post, we addressed the magnitude of bullying, its definition, its effects on victims, and its warning signs.  Part three offers ten ways

Bullying (Part I): Establishing Awareness

Educate yourself about the bully situation that many children are facing today. This article outlines the common types, possible effects, and warning signs of bullying. Click here to leave a response. Part two and three of this series will offer specific ways you can help. Among the issues plaguing our children today is the predominance and escalation of bullying.  Bullying has pervaded our social media, schools, and youth programs.  Researchers estimate that 20 to 30 percent of