Sherrika Myers Welcome to Nevada Week.

Thank you for having me.

So October is National Bullying Prevention Month.

How do we prevent children from becoming bullies?

We can prevent children from becoming bullied by teaching kids about empathy, the importance of having empathy for others.

The importance of teaching kids that everybody is created different.

But everybody is is important.

Everybody is created differently, but everybody is unique and special in their own way.

And it's okay.

And that is what your book series does.

The little Irby series, which has a new book, Herbie's new Friend will you tell me how you employ that in this book?

Yes.

And Herbie's new friend Lou Harvey had a speech impediment, but he meets a new friend named Reggie and in this new book, Little, Little Herbie stutters.

But Reggie wears glasses and and Reggie helps.

Herbie realizes that even though he studies, but he wears glasses.

So Reggie wears glasses, Herbie stutters.

But everybody is different.

But they both are unique, and that's okay.

If I'm a parent and I'm trying to get this message across to a child, would I want to perhaps point out that, hey, you have differences of your own?

Yes, of course.

You want your child to feel comfortable in their own skin.

You want your child to be comfortable with who they are and how they all create it and let them know that, hey, that that's okay, that everybody is created different.

And it doesn't matter what nobody say, how they look, how long it takes them to say something to everybody is still special.

Okay.

On the other side of this, how do we best help children who are being bullied?

The kids that are being bullied.

You want to make sure that they are talking to somebody.

The first person that you are supposed to talk to is their parent.

And if they don't feel comfortable with talking to their parent, parents need to let their child know that they can talk to somebody.

Rather be a teacher, a principal, even a police officer.

Somebody somebody that they feel comfortable with talking to but never, never hold it in.

And once they do start talking with someone, what should that conversation be?

First, a parent need to ask them how they feel.

And that's the first question that they need to ask them.

And then the second question should be all they have and in the issue.

And the third question is, if they are have having the problem, actually what what is the problem?

And what can they do to actually help them?

Do you find children who are being bullied always have an answer to how they can be helped?

Sometimes they don't because they they really don't.

Some kids don't don't understand.

And that's why I always suggest that the earlier you explain to a child about empathy, the earlier that they will be able to understand the earlier that they know that the early that you explain to your kids about diversity and inclusion, the earlier that that they will be that they will be able to understand like I taught me, I didn't understand when when I was a child, I grew up with a speech impediment.

I didn't understand.

I wish I knew how to tell somebody about how I felt.

I wish I knew who to turn to.

I couldn't speak, you know, I saw I act out.

I was bullied.

I was laughed at.

I didn't know how to tell somebody the problem that that I was having.

So sometimes they don't know what to say.

And that's why I came out with with my nonprofit.

Everyone voice matters.

That's why I started my children's book series, because I want to give kids an outlet to let them know how to talk about bullying, how to explain to their parents, their teachers, about how they feel.

What would have helped you as a young girl?

Books like Little Harvey series, Things like this.

Like like we're doing this.

Being being able to feel comfortable in my own skin.

You know.

People tell you you didn't understand even why you were being made fun of.

Well, if if I knew that if I understood the importance of being able to love who I am, being able to accept who I was right now, that's why I go and I tell kids the first rule is loving who you are, despite what what other people may say, you know, everybody is created different love or you off first and then everything else will fall in line.

Surekha Myers, founder of the nonprofit Everyone Voice Matters.

Thank you so much for joining the about a week.

Thank you for having me.