National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence

National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence

In line with the -National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence' on March 16th, Life Education, the largest non-government provider of health education in schools, wants to bring light to the issue of bullying as it remains a key concern among parents and carers.

The charity, which worked with 620,000 children across 3500 schools last year, said bullying – including the more recent issue of cyber bullying – continues to be a challenge for parents. This was recently voiced on the charity's Facebook page – which is fronted by popular mascot Healthy Harold -when it asked parents to name their major health and safety concerns for children for the 2012 school year.

Responses from parents included: -Bullying is horrid and more so with girls! The psychological torture that girls inflict upon each other in the name of being the popular one needs to be stopped...'And, -As a beginning teacher, I have real concerns about bullying, particularly the increased cyber-bullying epidemic. It is happening at any age and that can have detrimental effects in all areas of health...'

According to recent research commissioned by the Federal Government, one in four students in Australian schools is affected by bullying, and Life Education Australia CEO, David Ballhausen says parents can help;
Life Education encourages children (whether the victim or a bystander) to report all incidents of bullying and urges parents to reassure their child that reporting these events to a trusted adult is the right thing to do.

-On Friday 16 March 2012 schools throughout Australia will join together to celebrate the annual National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence. The focus of the 2012 day will be on parents and families taking a stand together and recognising the important role everyone plays.

To further support the -National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence', Life Education offers its top tips for parents to minimise the impact of these major issues on their children:
1. Reassure your child that reporting all instances of bullying to a trusted adult is the right thing to do.
2. Provide opportunities for your child to discuss their day's happenings with you.
3. Use open ended questions to encourage dialogue including, how did you feel? How did the situation resolve? What could you have done differently?

Life Education is the largest non-government provider of health and drug education to children and young people, Australia wide and is well known for its popular mascot, Healthy Harold the Giraffe. Life Education works to motivate, encourage and empower children and young people to exercise real choice – and make informed, safe and healthy lifestyle decisions, through its leading health and drug education programs. Life Education is a registered charity, independent of both government and religion which has been operating since 1979. Over 4 million students have participated in Life Education's program over the past 32 years. For further information on Life Education please visit: www.lifeeducation.org.au