by Steve Haubrick
Whether you are an adult or a child, practical jokes can be pretty funny. However, no one should be laughing when the joke hurts someone’s feelings. If the joke hurts someone, it is no longer humorous. It is bullying.
Bullying can take many forms and none of them are right. Whether they are physical, verbal, emotional, or through a joke, they hurt people. Our kids are especially susceptible to the harm that bullying causes. Children’s self-esteem can be impacted and their whole attitude affected. Some kids go into a deep depression and never recover.
A famous person once said that you should always walk in the shoes of another person. This is particularly true in this situation. Let your kids know and understand this. Whenever they are thinking of doing something in person, online, or especially in any public environment, have them ask themselves how they’d feel if the same thing was done to them. Have them describe the emotion they would feel. Lastly, have them ask is this is really a good idea to do?
As a parent, we often want to defend our children or we say kids will be kids. This is easy to say but not always the best remedy. Children and particularly adolescents are at a critical emotional stage in life and it isn’t always easy to shut off the huge negative impact from a bullying activity. Not all kids have the ability either physically or through their confidence to defend themselves.
Young adults can easily get sucked in by peer pressure and their cliques to do a truly mean act. They may not realize it at first and think it is all in jest. Their friends think it’s funny so it must be. However, true character and strength comes in not giving in to peer pressure and understanding the impact one act can have on a person. Teaching our next generation to build up the people around them and not break them down. This will inspire our next generation and bring about the best in our society. Stop bullying at its source and talk to your children about it.
Should you have any questions about the game or want to find out more details about soccer, feel free to contact me at president@myslsoccer.org“>president@myslsoccer.org.
Steve Haubrick is the MYSL/Murrieta Surf Soccer Club President.