avior may even help them in the long run.
Start an anti-bullying program. If you don’t want to talk to an adult and “out” a bully directly, talk to someone about starting an anti-bullying program. Some schools have eliminated or greatly minimized the culture of bullying by creating “bully-free zones” and working to educate teachers and students about the dangers of bullying so that they’re more willing to get involved when they see harassing behavior.
How to Help if Your Child is Being Bullied
Different parents have different reactions to learning that their child might be experiencing bullying. Some may believe that the bullying is a way to “toughen them up” and “show them how it is in the real world.” Others might become so enraged that they want to confront the bullies themselves or may push their children to fight back.
These options are rarely the right way to handle bullying. It’s much better to try to calm yourself down and take the middle ground—show concern but try to find ways to solve the problem that don’t involve physical or verbal altercations. Here are some suggestions that experts recommend.
Talk about bullying. One of the best ways to help your bullied child is to simply talk about bullying. Not about their bully specifically or the trouble they’re going through, but why bullying happens, how bullies typically work, and what they can do to make it stop and help others. They also need to understand that victims are never to blame for bullying because far too many of them can feel guilt and even become depressed. Educating your child in this way arms them with information that they can use to solve their problem.
Make yourself available to your child. A lot of kids won’t be comfortable coming to their parents for help for a variety of reasons, so it’s important that you do everything you can to show them that talking to you about a problem is something safe. Make sure they know that you care and that you’re willing to listen no matter what, but don’t press them for information or they might retreat further into themselves.
Document everything. If there are records of your child being bullied, as is often the case with cyber bullying, holding on to the evidence is vital. School authorities will often want proof if you go to them with accusations, and the court will certainly need it if it gets to the point that you need to make it a legal matter. Just as importantly, hanging on to things like emails can really help if your son or daughter is being targeted by anonymous bullies, because authorities sometimes use that information to track down the culprit.
Go to officials. Letting bullying go too far can lead to all kinds of potential physical and psychological damage, and sometimes you have little recourse other than to go to school officials to get it stopped. Meetings like this can go one of two ways—you can focus solely on the problem your child is having and demand that action is taken against the bullies, or you can work with them to start programs that educate their student body about bullying and seek to curb it in the school.
What Teachers Can Do About Bullying
Experts have found that comprehensive programs in the school are the most effective and efficient way to change the culture of bullying. Teachers and administrators, obviously, play a key role in this process because they are on the front lines just as much as parents are—if not more. Which strategies are known to work?
Raise awareness. When teachers notice that bullying is a problem, one of the best things they can do to solve the problem is to use their platform to talk about it and educate students. All too often, bullied kids feel like they’re alone and that no one will be willing to help them, but talking about it can change that. Encourage bullied students to seek help, and for those who witness bullying to speak out about it. Let them know that bullies can’t intimidate everybody if they work together against them.
Keep an eye out. Sometimes teachers can ignore the signs of bullying because they’re too caught up in their own classes or s