I remember being a kid and being bullied. Back in the day, it was a lot easier to ignore the bully. Take another way home. Stay away from where they hang out. Laugh at the derogatory comments made against me. And in order to successfully do any of this, I had to follow what I called my ‘super mantra’. Being that I was sort of a nerd, I knew that “mantra” was a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words in Sanskrit believed by practitioners to have psychological and spiritual powers.
So, I would say the mantra to myself, often. I would say it over and over again. Until I believed it. Until I wore it as a shield against the bullies. It made me feel invincible. And when I started to actually think about it. It made sense.
I guess by now, you’re wondering what this ‘super mantra’ was.
Right? Well. Let me tell you a little more about my theory.
I think kids from back in the day had less. Therefore, we were forced to survive. Today’s kids have access to so much, they don’t know the first thing about doing without. They can’t survive having no Wi-Fi. They can’t survive having no transportation. They can’t survive having no TV. We’ve made this newer generation soft. I blame us. I blame the parents. I blame the media. I blame society.
The minute a kid today is withheld something, they get upset and feel hurt. They feel like the world owes them something. Granted, every kid is not like that. You know the ones I’m talking about.
You see them in the grocery store asking for something and being denied. And how do these kids deal with denial, today? Temper tantrum.
I see them in the store, tearing it up. I just want to take off my belt and give them what they deserve. But, that’s just wrong. That’s considered abuse. Isn’t it? Well, it wasn’t when I was growing up. That was called getting ‘put in check’. Kids today need that. They don’t need a paycheck. They need a chin check.
Do what you want to do, say what you want to say, because those who matter don’t mind, and those who do mind, don’t matter. So go ahead. Check that chin. Don’t let your kids ruin a good day because of their bad yesterday.
But be careful.
You don’t want to come off as a bully. Or worse, raise a bully. Choose to check a chin, wisely.
Now, as far as that mantra goes. “Sticks and stones may break my bones. But names will never hurt me.” This got me through some tough times with bullies. As long as I knew that the words couldn’t hurt me like rocks and rods. I was good. I think I will start a campaign called ‘Sticks N Stones’. It will help kids who get bullied, deal with these bullies.
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