The Red Balloon – 27 Resources For Smashing Bullies and Giving the gift of self-confidence to your children

Long, long ago, back when talking to pigeons in the girls’ bathroom was far more academically rewarding than dealing with my comatose 134 year old 3rd grade teacher, I saw the movie The Red Balloon.

An incredible art film (now newly restored and available on DVD), it tells the haunting story of a lonely Parisian boy who is befriended by a big red balloon. Nobody wants to listen to Pascal, or be around him, or even take the time to understand him….except for a seemingly sympathetic big red balloon. Instead of floating away when released, it followed the boy everywhere and even warns him where to go to escape a band of bullies who are jealous that he has obtained a scrap of happiness.

But those bullies, having lost the boy, decide to destroy his balloon instead. I won’t give away the ending, except to say it’s something to which all bullied children can relate (truly a magnificent feel-good resolution!).

This movie has stayed with me ever since that dark and dreary 3rd grade day…I’ll be bringing a copy home soon for my kids to enjoy as well.

Now, given the fact I wrote Healing the pain of your childhood and making your inner child proud, I figured that following it up with a post about giving your children the gift of self-confidence and bullying prevention would be a most excellent thing indeed.

I have my own, ahem, starkly vivid feelings about such things….ideas that make me really unpopular with the majority of community parents.

You see, I believe that NOT fighting back when being bullied is dumber than swimming in shark-infested water while wearing raw meat earrings…and I refuse to excuse any "child" with ‘boys will be boys’ or ‘girls will be girls’ or ‘rabid warthogs will be rabid warthogs’ etc.

Any child who willingly bullies another should be set upon by someone stronger than he or she…and made to feel endure what he or she caused to her victims. 3 times over.

You can see why my viewpoints are less popular than a wart on a fashion model’s face.

I’ve told my kids, you don’t start fights, but you sure as hell finish them.

Try to defuse situations if at all possible…but if someone wants to bully you, make sure they pay DEARLY for it. You see, bullies live for weak victims. Refusing to "sink to their level and fight back" is just fine and dandy if you possess the confidence and maturity of an adult…but as a bullied kid, all you see is the utter never-ending pain and trauma of always being the one being abused.

To this day, I cannot understand how my grade school teachers never did buy a clue about that. Sigh.

Kids don’t understand nor respect noble gestures; all they can comprehend is when the fun of picking on children and making them cry disappears because the victim finally got up the courage to clock them in the head (side note – that’s what finally stopped the bullying of me, all those years ago).

Thus, I’ve researched some pretty darned useful sites you can peruse to target potential bullying/self-confidence problems in your own children…and how to derail those negative actions before any damages have been done. And here they are!

Enjoy.  I sure did.

• How To Be A Girl Bully <<REALLY EXCELLENT ARTICLE!!!
• 10 Ways To Build Your Child’s Confidence
• 12 Ways to help your child build self-confidence
• AntiBullying Network
• Are you creating a bully?
• Bullying.org
• Confident Children – Avoid Overparenting
• Crackdown on schoolgirl bullying epidemic
• Cruel intentions: Girls bully each other too
• Girl bullies don.t leave black eyes, just agony
• Girls and Bullying
• Helping Kids Deal with Bullies
  
• How to deal with a bullying problem
• How to Deal with Bullies
• How to Deal with Bullies in Second Grade
• How to Deal with Bullies on the Playground
• How to deal with school bullies
• Kids against Bullying
• Kids Karate and Bullying Resources
• Medline Plus Bullying
• Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and Other Realities of Adolescence
• Resources about Bullying
• Self Confidence In Children (Part 1)
• Stop Bullying Now
• Taking the Bully by the Horns
• The Bully Book
• The Confident Child
• The Covert Tactics Used When Girls Bully

Remember, if your child is being bullied, it can create lasting scars that will follow him or her throughout their life.  Refuse to allow your child to be a victim!  Give them the self-confidence they need to face down bullies and let them know…

NO!  Today is NOT Open season on ME!

Enjoy,

Barbara Ling

ps – want some resources regarding bullying?  Consider:

Anti-Bullying Kid Cam Button Camera Stop Violence Child Sexual Abuse Harassment

YOU WERE PRINCESS LAST TIME Laura Fisher Out of Print CHILDRENS Bullying Issues

Anti-Bullying Kid Cam Button Camera Stop Violence Child Sexual Abuse Harassment

Helping Children Cope with Bullying (Overcoming Common Problems), Sarah Lawson,

Bullying: Using Individual Profiling and Job Matching N

Epidemic: Obesity Harassment Bullying NEW

Bullying Prevention: Creating a Positive School Climate

Bullying: The Bullies, the Victims, the Bystanders NEW

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-- Barbara Ling