Cure for Bullying?

Bullying is a tricky subject. No one really knows why people bully, because every bully bullies for a different reason. Bullying has gotten out of control, is there any way to stop it? How can we stop bullying if we do not know the cause?

This article suggests that babies might be the solution to our bullying problems. A program called "Roots of Empathy" lets school age kids bond with a baby and its mother over a series of visits. Eventually, all of the kids started becoming more compassionate, more empathetic, more understanding, less hateful.

This article covers the theory more thoroughly. Being with the babies helps the kids "understand their own feelings and the feelings of others." The idea behind the program is "perspective taking." It makes the kids think about how the baby is feeling and not only think about themselves. That is the problem with bullying; people think about only themselves. They do not stop to think about how bad they are making other people feel, they just think about how good, or bad, they feel.

Bullying obviously needs to be stopped. I know it sounds cliche, but it warms my heart to think that sweet, innocent, lovable babies could very well be the solution to the problem.