Roseville Karate School Empowering Kids To Recognize Bullying
ROSEVILLE (CBS13) – When you send your kid to karate, you expect them to learn self-defense. But at Pro Martial Arts in Roseville, the mat chat goes deeper.
Their ARMOR curriculum is a prevention program that gives kids like 7-year-old Scarlett Tawkls tools to recognize a bully.
"Bullying is where you be mean to someone," Scarlett said.
And how to react.
"You should walk away," Scarlett said.
While kids may know what to do, mom Marla Tawlks says she can't help but worry about your kids.
"Anytime you send your kids, you're concerned you're not there to protect them, we're not there to help them," Marla said. "It's a great program to help them know they have confidence in themselves."
The program was developed with the help of child psychologists and law enforcement.
"Bullying, again, has come a long way. It's no longer the kids getting put in lockers," Marla said.
And it's not necessarily even physical.
"It's psychological – that's where the bullying is affecting these kids," Marla said.
The i-SAFE foundation reports half of teens are bullied online.
"Now there's cyber bullying. There's Facebook, there's Instagram," said Katie Spiegel, Pro Martial Arts' program director.
Dosomething.org claims 90 percent of children in grades 4 through 8 have been bullied at some point.
"It's hurtful. The cyber bullying doesn't go away so we just give the kids the tools to continue moving forward," Spiegel said.
Each mat chat is a mini lesson that covers a different way to empower the kids. So far, Pro Martial Arts says, the chats are working.
"We hear success stories every single day," Spiegel said.
"Just giving them a voice to know what's right, [to] look for help if they need it," Marla said.
The first two trial classes are free for children age three and up.
For more information on the school, head to PRO Martial Arts' website- http://www.promartialarts.com/roseville.
