Counseling Corner
Month of January
Tolerance and Name calling
January is the month of new beginnings and making a fresh start. Students are returning to school, and may be returning to difficulties with friendships from before the holiday break. This is the perfect month to think about tolerance and name calling. The third full week of January is "No Name Calling Week." Encourage your children to follow two old sayings: "Treat others the way you want to be treated," and "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it anything at all."
All too often name calling begins as a playful thing between friends or acquaintances. However, it turns to disrespectful and rude behavior quickly sometimes. Students at the middle school level have a difficult time thinking ahead, and do not realize what they thought was, "in fun" is actually hurting someone. The best way for a teenage child to understand, is to see appropriate, kind behavior in action. Model the kind of behavior that is appropriate, not the kind of rude behavior often seen on TV or in movies.
Here is a great article that will help parents if their child is a victim/target of name calling and/or intolerance: