Testimony of Healing June 12, 2017 Issue

No more playground bullying

Clementine Lue Clark

Our family had moved to a new country, and our children were attending the local school, where they had to learn a new language. In spite of the challenges, they were happy and were learning quickly.

Then one day both of my children came home from school complaining about a particular boy and his friends and their behavior during recess. The boys were playing a game they called “l’attrape filles,” or “catch the girls.” My daughters didn’t understand this game, but they knew they didn’t like it. The boys were being too aggressive with them—pulling, pushing, and “locking them up.” Initially, I chalked it up to a cultural and linguistic misunderstanding and encouraged the children to figure it out and stand up for themselves.

On our walk to school each day we also talked about loving unconditionally, seeing the good in others, and practicing the Golden Rule (see Matthew 7:12). I asked them if they could look for the good things that they saw this little boy and his friends do, since that goodness pointed to the boys’ purely good, harmless nature as children of God. It felt natural to encourage my girls along these lines since throughout my own life, I’ve seen many times how a clearer view of someone’s Godlike, spiritual nature brings healing to difficult situations.

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