Teaching kids to play nice

BOUNCING with energy, a Burns Beach child is determined to make the world happier and will spread her message in Europe later this year.

Sian Williams (7), with help from her mother Azelene, is establishing a non-profit anti-bullying program called Kidzucate.

Having posted videos to teach children about bullying and other issues on their website, Sian was contacted by the international organisation Youth for Human Rights.

They have invited her to speak at a summit in Brussels, Belgium in September as one of their youngest human rights educators.

When teased for her stutter at school about a year ago, Sian told her parents she wanted to make YouTube videos to teach children to be kinder to others.

‘In the beginning of her school term Sian struggled with kids that didn’t know what stuttering was,’ Mrs Williams said.

‘They started teasing and laughing as she couldn’t get her words out properly.’

Mrs Williams said her daughter’s teacher at Quinns Baptist College helped Sian explain stuttering to other students and the teasing eased away.

‘Sian soon realised that she was not the only one with a disability ” she had kids in class that weren’t academically on par or looked physically a bit different and they got teased,’ she said.

Highlighting different forms of bullying, Sian said sometimes jokes were not so nice, while older children might text something mean to their friends.

‘I would like to help the kids who stutter not to get bullied because it’s not so nice being bullied,’ the Year 2 student said.

Mrs Williams said they also wanted to teach children who bullied others how to treat other kids nicely.

‘A lot of times the victim turns out to be the bully in the end,’ she said.

Sian said some of her videos touched on other themes for children, such as cleaning a pet’s cage and what to do if you see a snake.

Mrs Williams said they were proud to support their daughter, who enjoys drama and the opportunity to speak about various issues.

Through Kidzucate, Sian gives away T-shirts, magnets and coffee mugs branded with ‘Lets make this world happier’ to children who do good deeds.

She is also collecting stuffed toys to donate to Princess Margaret Hospital.