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HELPING KIDS DEAL WITH BULLIES

Every day around the world, there are kids dealing with bullies. Cruel taunts, name-calling, physical bullying and cyberbullying are all different ways that kids can experience being bullied.

With so many ways to be bullied, it is so common these days for kids to experience bullying.

When it is your child being bullied, it can be incredibly scary and sad for both you and your child. Especially when all you want to do is make it stop.

You may feel helpless but there are things that you as a parent can do to help your child deal with bullies.

helping kids deal with bullies

HOW TO HELP YOUR CHILD DEAL WITH A BULLY

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LISTEN

When your child tells you that they have been bullied, one of the most important things you can do is listen. As much as what your child may be telling you may hurt you, be open to hearing what has to be said.

Be as supportive as you can but try to remain as neutral as possible when your child is talking. If you react too strongly to what you are being told by your child, you may find that they shut down.

Your child may be afraid to upset you, so it’s more beneficial to ensure that you keep your reactions in check.

Do not place blame or responsibility on your child by trying to find a reason for the bully’s behavior. There is never a good excuse or reason for what’s taking place.

If your child is experiencing bullies, your child is the victim, not the perpetrator and inadvertently placing the blame will make your child anxious and unwilling to share and communicate with you.

The end goal is to ensure that your child continues feeling as though they can talk to you about these things.

TALK TO THE SCHOOL

It is important to know when to get the school involved. Remember, you are not with your child during the times that they are at school so it is important that they make allies that are with them during that time.

Make sure to talk to people that can intervene if necessary and make them aware of the issue. Sometimes the school can also provide resources that can help your child deal with bullying such as counseling.

GIVE ADVICE

Sit down and speak to your child about different ways that they can deal with the bullying themselves. There are a few ways that your child can deal with bullies, and doing so on their own accord will help them to feel more self-assured.

  1. TELL THE BULLY TO STOP : Sometimes standing up to bullies in a calm manner can help to let them know that what they are doing isn’t working.
  2. IGNORE AND MOVE AWAY : Physically removing yourself from the situation and walking away can be a powerful tactic to combat bullying.
  3. STAY AROUND QUALITY FRIENDS : It can be helpful to have great friends around to make you feel safer if you feel threatened.
  4. SEEK HELP : If you are alone and feel threatened, seek out an authority figure to intervene.

Giving your child the tools to deal with bullying will help in many ways to ensure that they feel safe and confident.

Having a child who is at the receiving end of bullying can be such a stressful situation for both the parent and the child but there are many ways to deal with it.

American Girl has a great book called Dealing with Bullies & Bossiness and Finding a Better Way for girls to deal with “mean girls“.

Or try one of these books:

Dealing With Bullies: from School Yard Tyrants to Cyberpunks

How to Deal with Bullies Superhero-Style

You may also like this great RESOURCE FOR DEALING WITH BULLIES:

If your child is suffering from allowing bullies or bad experiences to rent their head space, here is a great resoruce for dealing with bullies

Image via Shutterstock

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Tiff Cho

Wednesday 13th of December 2017

love this tips!!

Chandra O’Connor

Tuesday 5th of December 2017

I always taught my girls if someone was bullying them to seeke help if what they tried didn’t work. My youngest was in grade two and a grade 6 very large girl was coming up to her and she shook her fist in her face. She reported it to her teacher after she told me. Never happened again.