Sep 27 2023 39 mins
"Before you hate, think of Cait." This is the statement that began P.E.E.R. Kindness, an organization started by our guest, Maya Haynes, after her teenage daughter Cait completed suicide in 2015.
In the second part of this two-part series on turning the tide on bullying, my guest Maya Haynes and I discuss some of the tools her organization PEER Kindness utilizes to help identify this behavior and take steps to change it. She and her team go into schools and out into communities to share what can be done to identify, intervene and report such behavior.
Talking with students, educators and parents, as well as various entities like churches, she empowers those who are being bullied, those who are watching this and the families dealing with the person who bullies and the one who is bullied. She also shares some insights into why people bully. We discuss the examples many adults display and thereby make bullying behaviors seem acceptable.
She gave one example of being able to help a young man who had been displaying bullying behaviors for many years. They did this by working with equine therapy to teach compassion. This was a turning point for this young man's life as well as his family's. Giving details of resources and services offered by PEER Kindness, Maya emphasizes the need to address all aspects of bullying with coaching, counseling and various therapies depending upon individual and family needs. She also reminds us that we do indeed need each other to accomplish a safer school and community environment for everyone.
We talked, at length, about young people in our society witnessing the way adults treat each other with unkindness and incivility. Then, seeing those behaviors as examples of how to disagree and/or communicate, they put these tactics into practice too. Whether we admit it or not, young people watch and often imitate the behaviors of the adults in their lives. She offers some practical steps to help us return to civility in our interactions as adults, so we can better help our kids to interact with civility in their relationships as well.
Find out more information about P.E.E.R. Kindness and connect with Maya Haynes, or find resources to start turning the tide on bullying in your area, go to:
https://www.peerkindness.net/
To connect with Laura Padgett, host of this podcast, go to
https://lauralpadgett.com/
To check out music from April Metzler, go to
https://aprildmetzler.com/home/music