THE MISSION

The Tease-Free Kids Program (TFKP) is an organization established to combat the culture of teasing and bullying that is pervasive among children in our schools and community. TFKP has developed a training program to educate children and the adults who supervise them on the dangers of teasing and bullying and also offer them skills to combat this problem.  Once completed, participants will be equipped to identify and hopefully feel empowered to stand up against this behavior and to create a culture of acceptance and respect for one another. 

The program can be custom designed to fit the needs of your particular school or organization and can be a “one-stop-shop” for implementation.  Train-the-trainer sessions can be presented to principals, counselors, teachers, peer mediators, youth leaders, bus drivers as well as students to the program and its philosophy, so that it can be fully implemented throughout the organization. 

It is important to expose the TFKP to any and all adults who have contact with children. For example, research has shown that children are exposed to most teasing and bullying on school buses; yet, drivers are often not trained to deal with this pervasive problem. 

While we cannot guarantee to stop all negative behavior, because addressing the source of the behavior is not always possible.  However, bullying and teasing are crimes of opportunity and this program seeks to eliminate it by creating as many safe environments as possible.

We must stand together as adults if we expect to lead our children to stand together as peers. This is why presenting an overview of the program and the “Tease Free” philosophy to all adults involved in the school or organization is critical. At the end of the training we ask adult participants to sign a “Tease Free Pledge” to show their support for the “Tease Free Kids” philosophy. We also teach parents and guardians how to support their children when they are confronted with teasing and bullying by sharing words to use, places to go, and skills to employ in order to find safety.