The #1 Way to Prevent the Mental and Emotional Pain and Suffering Our Children Face Today
The #1 Way to Prevent the Mental and Emotional Pain
and Suffering Our Children Face Today
There are a lot of issues and challenges that kids face today that many of us never experienced growing up, including the:
- Internet and cyberbullying, which has helped to drive the existing bullying epidemic.
- Existence of texting as a primary source of communication versus person to person interaction, leading to feelings of isolation and loneliness.
- Rising incidence of violence and mass shootings in schools, creating greater fear, anxiety and depression.
- Threats of terrorism, which affects our kids’ sense of safety.
These added stressors, on top of the normal challenges of being a kid (school, parents, sibling rivalries, social/friendship issues), it is no wonder that our children are facing significant mental and emotional pain and suffering in their normal, day-to-day lives. The good news is that there are
specific steps we can take to help protect our children and strengthen their ability to shield themselves from these damaging effects.
The #1 Way to Prevent the Mental and Emotional Pain
and Suffering Children Face Today
While many of the external things that happen to us are out of our control, we do have the absolute power over our response to those things.
The Way We Think is at The Foundation of
Everything Over Which We Have Control
Our thoughts direct our emotions, communication and behavior and, therefore, impact every resulting outcome. This is true for our kids as well. Therefore, learning and implementing skills that allow our kids to take control over their thinking is the #1 way to prevent the mental and emotional pain our kids suffer from every day.
Science Has Proven We Have Little Control Over Our Thinking Naturally
According to the Journal of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, we only use our on purpose, deliberate, conscious thinking, over which we have complete control, 5% of the time. We use our automatic, reactive, subconscious thinking 95% of the time. Which means we are in reaction mode most of the time. Our subconscious thinking is responsible for most of the negativity and challenges we experience in life. According to our government’s National Science Foundation, we have up to 60,000 thoughts per day, with 80% of them being negative and 95% being repetitive. We relive our negative thoughts and experiences over and over again, every day.
Science Has Also Proven That Everyone Has the Ability to Rewire Their Brain
Neuroscientists have proven that every person, including children, can retrain their brain to think in a new and different way, which can help people overcome their natural, automatic tendencies.
Rescue Our Kids Teaches Children How to Shift Their Thinking
The Rescue Our Kids Phase 1 Prevention Video and Audio Program for Kids provides 10 specific steps kids can take to prevent the mental and emotional pain and suffering from bullying. The Prevention Video and Audio Program for Adults shares an additional 4 steps adults can take to support the process. Specific skills are taught to help kids gain conscious control and strengthen their thinking. A strong, protective mind will help shield kids from the damage bullying initiates.
There Are an Infinite Number of Skills to Help
Strengthen a Child’s Mind and Thinking
Leadership and life skills are designed to support people in managing their thoughts, communication, relationships and behavior, and making better choices for their lives and futures. Unfortunately, children are not provided many opportunities to learn and implement those skills.
Jack Zenger, CEO of Zenger/Folkman (Leadership Development) and author of “How Leaders Accelerate Successful Execution,” acknowledged that in their limited research, children (3rd and 4th graders) had no trouble understanding and implementing the leadership principles they were taught. His conclusion was that “leadership development can be taught at any age.”
Unfortunately, leadership development has not yet caught up with most adults. Out of their 17,000 worldwide leaders participating in their leadership training, the average age was 42, with less than 5% being under the age of 27. So leadership development has historically been reserved for the “few,” not the “many.”
We Have Been Dealing with an Unlevel Playing Field
To a great degree, we are a product of our parents or the guardians who raised us. Many of our strengths and successes are dependent upon the skills they bestowed upon us, including their ability to:
- Consciously manage their own thinking, emotions, communication and behavior
- Develop goals and meet them
- Maintain strong, positive relationships
- Maintain a positive attitude even in tough times
- Be a good judge of character
- Select friends wisely
- Prepare themselves for a successful and financially stable future
- Inject kindness into the world
- Maintain respect for all people, including children
- Live a life based upon positive leadership qualities (e.g., honesty, integrity, communicative, team oriented, inspiring, supportive, open minded, etc.)
Rescue Our Kids Phase 2 Programs Will Provide Leadership and Life Skill Training for Children from Kindergarten Through 12th Grade
It is time to start leveling the playing field. These skills must be made available to all kids, regardless of their family history or background. Rescue Our Kids is committed to providing all of its online training 100% FREE. It is our way to make a substantial difference in the lives and futures of our next generations (and because the online programs are and will always be free, adults can take advantage of the training as well).
Our Responsibility as Adults
While this article is geared toward protecting our children, it is we adults that are given the responsibility to help guide our kids to greater mental and emotional health and strength. This will necessitate that we, too, gain new skills so we are managing our own thinking as well. We must lead by example.
Visit www.RescueOurKids.org to:
- Watch the Prevention Videos for the children in your life.
- Check out the Phase 2 Programs to be developed.
Let’s all do our part by helping to change the statistics and Rescue Our Kids!