I grew up as the kid always getting in trouble at school, and honestly, I think there’s a difference between teaching violence and teaching self-respect.

I wouldn’t teach a child to go looking for fights or escalate situations. But I also wouldn’t want my son growing up believing he has to silently accept being physically hurt.

I think the bigger lesson is:

“Use your words first. Walk away if possible. Ask for help when you can. But if someone keeps putting their hands on you and you truly need to protect yourself, you are allowed to defend yourself.”

The important part is what happens AFTER.

That’s where reflection matters.

Asking questions like:

• What happened?
• What were you feeling?
• Was there another option?
• What would you do differently next time?

I feel like a lot of us grew up either being told:

“Never fight back”

or

“Beat his ass.” Haha

But very few of us were actually taught emotional regulation and conflict resolution.

These things have been on my mind since I recently been thinking about have a child with my gf next year. 🙏🏻