By LYNNE MARIE WANAMAKER

"Bullying.

"What's in a name?

I believe the term bullying minimizes behaviors that are called violent in other settings. Harassment, intimidation, threats, name calling and hate speech exist along a continuum of violence.

It makes no difference whether those behaviors occur in a classroom, a family, a workplace or on the street.

If we allow our kids to become inured to a climate of hostility and
intimidation we erode their survival instincts.

As a mom, I never want my kid to ignore her intuition of what feels OK to her body, mind and spirit. That intuition may save her life someday.

So it becomes critical that I, her teachers, and her peers take seriously any violation of her safety.

It becomes critical that we demonstrate in words and actions that bullying behavior is unacceptable behavior.

Anti-bullying work is anti-violence work.

When adults make clear our expectation that all children be treated with respect and that each of them has sovereignty over his or her body, we create a climate that is antithetical to violence.

When parents teach their kids verbal, emotional, boundary setting and community-building strategies to avoid and address bullying they teach self-defense skills.

When we practice respectful conflict resolution with our kids we demonstrate non-violent options for dealing with anger.

When communities place mutual respect and physical safety before all else we rehearse a new normal. We become the change we want to see in this world.

Lynne Marie Wanamaker is a National Women’s Martial Arts Certified Self Defense Instructor. She blogs about the intersection of self defense and parenting.