The backpacks are packed, the lunch boxes are filled. The alarm clocks are set and the new schedule is hanging on the fridge with a magnet. You’re ready.

Almost.

But there are some important conversations to have before the bus comes to the bus stop and those conversations aren’t just for the kids; they’re conversations for you, for you and your spouse, for you and your team at work. Why? Because these conversations keep emotional health, trust, and shared experience high. When those things are present, it helps grow and maintain the connection you have as a parent to your kids, to your spouse, and to your work colleagues. Try making these topics part of your conversational routine, throughout the year?

How do you feel about ___________? Sometimes we need ‘permission’ from the people who are important to us to process the feelings that pop up when a new school year starts or a new job kicks off. With your kids, help equip them with ‘feeling’ language. Nervous, excited, scared, happy, emotions share some similar ways they show up. A pounding heart at breakfast before heading to the bus stop can be about feeling a little scared or a little excited…or both. Work with your kids to identify their emotions and do it without calling one emotion or another good or bad.

Who do you want to be? Notice the first word of this conversation starter. Who. It’s not about a job or career path. It’s not about what we often see as accomplishments or performance. It’s about what kind of person your child or colleague wants to be. Honest. Loyal. Persistent. Hardworking. Kind. These kinds of attributes help those you care about to think about the fiber of who they are, regardless of the grades they earn or the deals they close.

Where are you seeing God show up in your day-to-day? How is He making a way? This is an amazing habit to get into, to help yourself, to help your kids look for God in daily life. Too often, we relegate those conversations to church settings or perhaps after leaving a service. But when you consistently ask your kids and when you consistently look in your own life for how God is making a way in your day to day, you’ll see Him show up more and more. That’s the core of Altrua HealthShare brand ambassador Jordan St. Cyr’s message in his new hit:

How are you being treated? How are you treating others? It’s an important conversation to have with your kids here at the start of the school year. And, let’s face it, it’s also an important conversation to have with yourself when it comes to your workplace or other organizations that you interact with. What is this important conversation about? It’s about…bullying

According to the Anti-Bullying Alliance, bullying is defined as “repetitive, intentional hurting of one person or group by another person or group, where the relationship involves an imbalance of power. Bullying can be physical, verbal or psychological. It can happen face-to-face or online.”1 One out of five students today say they have been the subject of bullying.2 When I was a kid in school, bullying was a topic that often didn’t get discussed. But just because we weren’t talking about it didn’t mean that it wasn’t happening. I can remember the absolute dread that I felt during fifth grade knowing that when I got off the bus at the bus stop, several girls were going to follow me and take the opportunity to bully me.

But bullying isn’t something reserved for the school yard or the bus stop. It’s not something that gets left behind after entering adulthood. Workplace bullying is a significant issue today. 75% of employees say that they have seen co-workers being bullied.3 Just like the school statistics, 20% of American workers say they have been the victims of bullying.4

How do you find a way out from under bullying, for your child or for yourself?

Speak up: Your words, your children’s words, are a powerful force for ending bullying. For students, 57% of bullying incidents stop when a peer speaks up on behalf of the person being bullied.5

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
for the rights of all who are destitute.
Speak up and judge fairly;
defend the rights of the poor and needy.
Proverbs 31:8-9

It takes intentionality, it takes thinking ahead, but when you start having purposeful conversations as part of your new school year routine, when you spend time over the dinner table asking consistent questions, equipping your kids with the language and space to talk about what’s going on in their lives, the dividends are huge.

1 https://anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk/tools-information/all-about-bullying/understanding-bullying/definition
2 https://www.pacer.org/bullying/info/stats.asp#:~:text=One%20out%20of%20every%20five%20(20.2%25)%20students%20report%20being%20bullied.%20(
3 https://setyanlaw.com/workplace-harassment-statistics-in-2023/#:~:text=75%25%20of%20employees%20have%20witnessed%20workplace%20bullying%20behavior.
4 https://setyanlaw.com/workplace-harassment-statistics-in-2023/#:~:text=71%25%20of%20workplace%20bullies%20act,workplace%20bullying%20victims%20are%20female.
5 https://dosomething.org/article/11-facts-about-bullying#:~:text=More%20than%20half%20of%20bullying%20situations%20(57%25)%20stop%20when%20a%20peer%20intervenes%20on%20behalf%20of%20the%20student%20being%20bullied.%5E%5BNational%20Bullying%20Prevention%20Center.%20%22Bullying%20Facts.%E2%80%9D%20Accessed%20Aug.%2021%2C%202019.%20https%3A//www.pacer.org/bullying/resources/facts.asp.%5D