Kidspot.com.au has unveiled a new initiative in response to a poll that revealed 72 per cent of families who use the content platform have been affected by bullying.
Launched to coincide with the new school year, Kidspot Cares seeks to arm parents with the tools, support and advice they need to help their families combat and ultimately prevent bullying.
Committed to bringing parents the best advice and information about the safety and health of their family, Kidspot.com.au is partnering with You Can Sit With Me to raise awareness of its kindness initiative.
Championing inclusiveness, You Can Sit With Me is simple, safe and changes lives by using a simple wristband in schools to send a message that everyone is welcome and included in the playground.
Children are trained what to do and say if someone comes to sit with them by asking, “Are you ok?”, and at no time does the child need to offer advice or intervene in the problem – rather, offering a safe place to sit and referring them to a teacher if they feel they need help.
Kidspot editor Melissa Wilson said she is seeing so many stories on bullying from the Kidspot.com.au community.
“Families have reported experiencing bullying in some situations from as young as four at day care and pre-school,” she said.
“Kids are experiencing cyberbullying, verbal abuse and also physically violence – no one appears to be immune.
“Kids tend to be bullied for physical appearance and also because of behaviour such as ADHD, and some instances were even perpetrated by parents, such as not inviting certain kids to birthday parties.
“These stories have shocked the Kidspot team into action, which is why we are committing to Kidspot Cares and our new partnership with You Can Sit With Me.
“We didn’t want to just report on incidences of bullying – we wanted to do something to help parents, families and children stop this behaviour on an ongoing basis and ultimately prevent it.”
You Can Sit With Me founder Sophie Whitehouse said: “You Can Sit With Me is excited to be partnering with Kidspot.com.au to help parents achieve similar goals by supporting children and students to encourage inclusive behaviours.”
The Kidspot Cares campaign also includes:
- All of Kidspot’s bullying resources and information in one place on the site for parents.
- Government-approved group Interrelate, which does bullying talks in schools, are on board to supply helpful advice and content on an ongoing basis.
- The sharing of personal stories of families who use Kidspot on how they have combated or prevented bullying.
- Psychologist Belinda Williams has come on board as Kidspot’s resident psychologist to offer advice for parents.
- Psychologist Belinda Williams and Sophie Whitehouse will discuss bullying on Kidspot’s podcast, The Juggling Act, live on Wednesday.
- In a powerful new video, Kidspot will share the emotional story of a mum who lost her daughter to bullying to help stamp out bullying in schools and raise awareness on how to keep our kids safe.
