Burnet CISD program empowers kids to ‘Say No to Bullying’
DANIEL CLIFTON • EDITOR
BURNET — There’s nothing fun about being bullied. And Darlene Denton of Burnet Consolidated Independent School District’s Parent Resource Center wants to help parents empower their kids in standing up for themselves and sending would-be bullies in another direction.
“A lot of times, parents want to make their kids out to be victims and come to their rescue, and as a parent, I understand that,” Denton said. “I want parents to empower their children. I believe if a child is empowered and knows how to stand up for him or herself, a lot of times, a bully won’t target them.”
Denton and Renae Feller of BCISD are hosting “Say No to Bullying” at the Parent Resource Center, 202 E. Brier St., from 6-7:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 25, and again 5:30-7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 26.
“It’s for parents and kids to come together,” Denton added. “It’s going to be a fun workshop with games that really hit at what bullying is, what the signs are, and how parents can help their kids if they are being bullied.”
Denton’s adult daughter will help with the program and share her experiences from her younger years when some bullies targeted her.
“She’ll share how she was bullied for some things she couldn’t change,” Denton said. “She’ll talk about the ways she dealt with that bullying, and I’ll talk about from a parent’s perspective how we helped her deal with it.”
While bullying has garnered an increase in attention the past several years, Denton explained that it’s not a new behavior; it just seems enhanced through the availability of the internet and social media.
“It’s been around for years and years,” she said. “During the program, we’ll also talk about some of the issues that have been making the news lately, how those problems were handled, and maybe how some of them could have been handled better.”
The program will outline the warning signs of bullying and proper ways parents can handle it and help their children handle it (from reporting it as well as other steps).
“I want to really encourage parents to listen to their kids, see the warning signs, but also to build their confidence up so bullies might not target them,” Denton said.
Call (512) 715-3668 for more information on the program.
daniel@thepicayune.com