Bullying in school time affects children both mentally and physically. Parents should be careful and proactive in identifying if their child is involved in such circumstances. Here we are going to discuss the strategies that help recognize and address bullying effectively.
Misconceptions
Many parents think that bullying indicates their child is a bad person. Remember, children do bully for different reasons, such as to get attention. They won’t recognize the impacts of their actions and victims may use bullying as a coping tool. It is a common misconception that bullying is a youth label and is not going to change. Parents should go for an open and direct conversation with their child if he/she engages in bullying. Children should be encouraged to share things that happened and their feelings as well.
Characteristics of bullying
Bullying is an intentional action that can harm the victim and happen repeatedly. It often happens due to conflicts between social status or perceived power. However, any child can engage in bullying or get bullied. The modern scenario brings more chances for vulnerable youth to be bullied both offline and online.
How to recognize bullying?
Parents should watch out for their children for signs like behavioral or physical changes. This can include:
- Sudden fear to attend certain classes or the whole school
- Significant increase/decrease in his/her internet usage
- Poor grades
- Injuries that are not explained or clothing that is destroyed or lost.
How to prevent bullying?
First of all, children should be taught to recognize bullying. Then, they should be given strategies to manage it safely. They should be taught that bullying is unacceptable and how to seek assistance. Some proven strategies to support children’s mental health include:
- Go for an open communication. Check-in and listen to the kids. Parents should have a clear idea of the child’s friends and should ask about the school. Children should be confident to share their concerns with their parents.
- Motivate the child to do what he/she likes. Hobbies and interests can improve confidence and encourage kids to make friends and shield them from bullying behaviour.
- Show them how to respect others and be kind to them
- Ask them to report bullying as and when it happens
- Encourage them to stand up to children who bully. Provide them with useful and humourous tips to say ‘No’ to bullying. Tell them what to do if these strategies don’t work.
Things to do if your child is/was bullied
- Listen to your child calmly and provide him/her with emotional support
- Tell them that it is not their fault and you will be with them always
- Contact the school or class teacher to address the issue and arrange a support system for the child that encourages him/her to talk to you as and when needed
- Ask the child never to ignore the bullying and don’t blame him/her for being bullied.
- Never encourage the child to fight back against the child who bullies physically. This can make the child get suspended or expelled from the school.
- Don’t contact the other parents involved as it may make things worse. Let the school act as a mediator between the parents.
Things to do if your child bullies others
- Let the child recognize his problematic behavior. Young people should be taught that their behavior is wrong and hurts others.
- Tell them how dangerous bullying is. Tell them calmly that bullying is not a thing to be tolerated. Give them examples of respectful behaviors while addressing the issue.
- Talk with the child and understand why he/she thinks to bully others
- Many children bully to fit in. Parents and teachers can participate in positive activities. Encourage them to participate in sports and clubs taking captain roles and making friends. This will help decrease their feel of bullying others.
- Some kids bully others as something else is going on in their lives. For example, they may have also been bullied. Such children need support from mental health services.
- Don’t work on strategies that can bring negative impacts or results. For example, suspending or expelling children from school won’t decrease bullying behavior. Moreover, students may not report or address bullying if suspension/expulsion is the result
- Peer mediation or conflict resolution won’t work because bullying is not a conflict between people of the same power.
- Students who bully as a group won’t change their behavior through group treatments because members in a group tend to make bullying behavior stronger in each other.
Ways to respond to bullying
- you should intervene immediately. You can get other people’s assistance
- immediately separate the kids involved in bullying and ensure everyone is safe
- Go for immediate medical assistance or mental health needs if needed
- Stay calm and ensure the children involved in the incident, including their bystanders
- While intervening, show the models of respectful behavior
- Never ignore the incident. To work out with bullying, adult intervention is necessary
- Calmy sort out the facts
- Never force other children to say publicly what happened.
- Never question the child involved before other kids
- Talk with kids involved in the incident separately
- Never ask the children involved to apologize or make up relations on the incident
Few Online NGO’s in India which can be helpful
We have few NGOs who are doing there part to help children/student from bullying, here we share them so you can use to report.
Building resilience
Parents can organize goals for children and encourage them to play significant roles in working toward them. If you think your child shows defensive/offensive character, then help them understand and situation deeply. See the situations and features that cause the behavior. Your child may not have the ability to manage what is going on. They may need additional support so help them create skills they need and respond better in the future. Role-playing is a good strategy to manage different problems. During challenging circumstances, model them the attitude of grit and optimism.
Summary
Bullying is a difficult issue to be handled carefully with parental involvement. Hope this blog gives you a clear direction from trusted tips and strategies that can protect your kids from bullying. Help them and nurture them into compassionate and respectful persons.
Thank You🙏
- Combating School Bullying through Developmental Guidance for Positive Youth Development and Promoting Harmonious School Culture
- Efficacy of a Web-Enabled, School-Based, Preventative Intervention to Reduce Bullying and Improve Mental Health in Children and Adolescents: Study Protocol for a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial
- Bullying in children: impact on child health
- Mental health interventions in schools 1
- Bullying Prevention in Adolescence: Solutions and New Challenges from the Past Decade
- Teachers’ and Education Support Professionals’ Perspectives on Bullying and Prevention: Findings From a National Education Association Study
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