As I sit here writing, there are two small people fast asleep in their rooms, hopefully dreaming the sweet dreams of children who know they are safe, protected and very, very loved. At six and eight, they are still coming to me when they are thrilled, when they are sad, when they have had a wonderful day, or, like today, when it feels like everything is falling apart. I can tell by the look in their eyes if the day was a good one, or if there was a struggle. I’m happy to say, it doesn’t take too much finagling to find out the source of the joy or sadness. So far, that is.
My hope is that they know I will always be an ear for them. I will always be the one to stand up for them. As first and third graders, they are just beginning to navigate the road of friendships, the complications that accompany unkind words and the recognition that not everyone will be nice. In fact, some people are downright mean. But my hope is to pass along to them my belief in standing up for what is right, standing up for themselves and standing up for people who are being treated unkindly, or worse, outright bullied.
This isn’t an easy concept for small people, but fortunately, there are ridiculously smart people who know how to talk to kids on their very own level – talk to them in their language and meet them with their interests. Awesome Upstander is an app designed to teach kids how to respect and protect others. The game introduces the concept of an ‘Upstander’ – someone who, in a safe way, intervenes in a bullying situation to combat silence and the hurt feelings a child can suffer.
There are challenges, sound effects, and levels to work through. For only .99, you can be giving your children an extraordinary lesson and, during the month of October, fighting the epidemic of bullying. The trailer for the App walks you through how it works. For the entire month, 50% of all sales are being donated to partner organizations, Kind Campaign and Truth Locker. Both work to promote kindess and combat bullying.
If you have tried the app, I would love to know what you think. And if you have talked to your kids about this very important topic, how did it go and what did you find resonated most?
