October as “World Month of Bullying Prevention” and will focus on spreading the message of kindness.
Bullying is any form of intended hurtful behavior inflicted on another person. Whether it is violence, name calling or threats, if you are intimidated by it then it is unacceptable and you need not suffer because of it.
The different types of bullying include :
Name Calling
Making things up to get you into trouble
Any forceful physical contact from hitting to being shoved
Taking things away from you
Damaging your belongings
Stealing your money
Taking friends away from you
Spreading rumors
Threats and intimidation
Making silent or abusive phone calls
Sending you offensive texts
Posting insulting messages on the internet or Instant Messenger
Bullies can also frighten you enough to make you not want to go to school so you’ll pretend to be ill to avoid them.
One day, on their walk home from school, when Markedia Nicaule’s daughter was around six years old, she told her mother that a classmate had called her a not so nice name and that she was very upset about it.
Knowing that being bullied could be very detrimental to a child’s mental and physical health, Markedia knew that she had to nip this problem in the bud by instilling in her daughter a level of confidence that could withstand anything anyone said about her that was contrary to the good they both knew was inside of her.
Markedia’s love for her daughter led her to write a positive affirmation in the form of a poem entitled, “ THE VOICES I HEAR ”. They recited the poem over and over and over again and IT WORKED !!!
Now, at the age of 16, Markedia Nicaule’s daughter is a confident, strong minded, high achieving young lady determined to achieve her dreams.
Due to the increase in suicides/attempts of school aged children due to bullying, Markedia Nicaule decided to turn “ THE VOICES I HEAR ” into a beautiful kid friendly poster that can be placed in a child’s bedroom or classroom as a social emotional learning tool other parents and educators can use to remind their children of just how awesome they truly are.
And…In honor of National Bullying Prevention Month…the posters are available as a FREE digital download at thevoicesihear.org for the entire month of October 2020!!!
So how can you get involved? Easy, go to www.voicesihear.org and click download poster and worksheet. Be sure to post on social media using the hashtag #myvoicematters