160,000 kids stay home from school every day because of fear of bullying (ABC News)
I originally posted this last January when I was doing some research regarding the benefits of using Mindfulness to improve performance at work and came across this fantastic Ted Talk for teenagers.
A good friend of mine is an advocate for changing Bullying behaviour for teens and in schools. Over the easter weekend we were discussing how to stop bullying. I shared my view, which is that access through social media is making it very hard for us to control “bullies” i.e, our external world, and we may have more luck dealing with our “internal” world which is helping teens build resilience for this behaviour.
This inspirational Ted Talk provides what I call a no-cost Kryptonite for dealing with the impact of bullying and improving mental health outcomes for kids. Recent tragedies where young people have taken their lives due to bullying such as Amy Everett are bringing this critical issue into the spotlight.
The statistics on bullying and suicide are alarming. Recent research suggests:
- Suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people, resulting in about 4,400 deaths per year. For every suicide among young people, there are at least 100 suicide attempts. Over 14 percent of high school students have considered suicide, and almost 7 percent have attempted it.
- Bully victims are between 2 to 9 times more likely to consider suicide than non-victims, according to studies by Yale University
- A study in Britain found that at least half of suicides among young people are related to bullying
- 10 to 14 year old girls may be at even higher risk for suicide, according to the study above
- According to statistics reported by ABC News, nearly 30 percent of students are either bullies or victims of bullying, and 160,000 kids stay home from school every day because of fear of bullying.
Retrieved from: http://www.bullyingstatistics.org/content/bullying-and-suicide.html
We must act now! Share this link and Ted Talk below with your kids, teachers, school principals, community and political leaders. Watch all of it, as she explains simply how this practice works and in my view could save lives.
Warmly, Margie – Founder – CIT.
Margie Ireland is the author of The Happy Healthy Leader – how to achieve your potential even during a crisis. Margie is a registered Psychologist, Leadership Coach and Workshop Facilitator, highly sought after to help Leaders and their teams navigate stress and change with healthier coping strategies, leading to happier, healthier and high-performing teams. For more information visit www.margieireland.com
