Vaccinate your child against bullying

Claudia Díaz, Montessori British School principal, recently created a blog (www.mind-driver.com) for parents from around the world who are interested in their children’s being happier and fully impervious to bullying. They will therein find the “vaccine” against this phenomenon that affects our children’s personal development today.

Is it true that parents can “vaccinate” their children against bullying?

Yes, it is. We at the Montessori British School work with the children and have a blog for the parents to get to know clear strategies on how to achieve it.

What should parents do?

www.mind-driver.com is a blog that features many strategies to achieve your children’s happiness; however, one of the most important is understanding the difference between a “kite” and a mind-driver. It is based on the notion that kites fly according to the circumstances—anywhere the wind blows—or don’t fly; on the contrary, mind-drivers assign meaning to circumstances. With this in mind, the child will be able to understand that their happiness will come if they become a mind-driver.

Could you give as an example?

Yes. It is very common for children to be sad because their "best" friend changed their mind and now tell them that they are no longer their "best” friend. They are very affected by circumstances and by what other children and other people say to them; however, when we train them to be mind-drivers, they learn to assign different meaning to what they are told. In this case, even if their friend tells them that they are no longer their "best" friend, they will find an empowering meaning in it: for example, that their "best" friend is trying to draw attention to themselves or has never been their friend and that it is time to seek out other friends. With this new meaning, they will be happy and not sad. They will become mind-drivers whose happiness will not depend on the circumstances or what they say to them.

And is this the “vaccine” against bullying?

One of them, for children learn to assign different meanings to the circumstances or, in that case, to what is said to a child protected from bullying. Let’s remember that bullying takes two: a weak-minded child, or rather a “kite” (in my terms), and one who takes advantage of them. If your child is a mind-driver, they are “vaccinated” against bullying.