School Bullying: 150 Babies Fight

No, those more-than-100 babies aren't for some strange diaper commercial or a Johnson & Johnson ad, they're on a mission: to cure classrooms of bullying forever.

The program, Roots of Empathy, employs 150 baby volunteers in attending classrooms in an effort to reduce student agression, BBC reports.

Strategic director of children's services Louise Warde-Hunter told BBC that the program, which has already begun in the United Kingdom, fosters a calm environment for the students.

''This raises levels of empathy amongst classmates, resulting in more respectful relationships and a dramatic reduction in levels of aggression among schoolchildren.''

Every month for a year, a parent and their baby will visit certain elementary schools for 30-minute sessions. The children in the class are encouraged to play with the child, and in doing so, learn nurturing skills, Evening Times reported.

Roots of Empathy was developed in 1996 by Mary Gordon, and was originally meant to improve young children's social skills and "emotional literacy." Reduction in violence and bullying were unexpected side effects, STV reported.

Comments

[MissMew]

03:35 PM on 11/16/2011

My Daughter is a Roots of Empathy baby, the reactions we get in the schools by the students and teachers alike is amazing!

[sydneymoon]

07:27 AM on 11/04/2011

Terrific

[Voodoomojo]

05:06 PM on 11/03/2011

Oh cool! I like this idea.

[sparkygirl91]

02:40 PM on 11/03/2011

My first gut reaction to this story: What a great idea! And the more I think about it, the more I'm likin' it. There will be some now who will absolutely poo-poo this idea but the UK is, at least, making efforts to bring about change. What is our country doing? Just askin'.