Tips If Your Child is Being Bullied

By: Denise Young

 

 

 

Have you been bullied any time in you life? Well, I have and it was in middle school and little in high school. This is one of the things that has been going on for years and has gotten worse for our children. How do we stop it? Why do kids do it? Parents have so many questions. Do you know the definition of bulling? Bullying is the use of force or coercion to abuse or intimidate others. The behavior can be habitual and involve an imbalance of social or physical power. It can include verbal harassment or threat, physical assault or coercion and may be directed repeatedly towards particular victims, perhaps on grounds of race, religion, gender, sexuality, or ability. If bullying is done by a group, it is called mobbing. The victim of bullying has been referred to as a "target".

Kids and teens can find all kinds of things bully-worthy about their peers; clothing, nationality, sexuality or even hobbies. While you can teach your own child principals and morals that do not involve bullying others, it’s hard to prevent others from bullying your child. 

Fortunately, there are ways to deal with a bully in your child's life. If your child is dealing with a bully, below are tips from Bullying Expert Dr. Dorothy Espelage

What you can do:

• Insist on a bully prevention plan or safety plan for your child
• Call parents of bullies or bully group and arrange a meeting, if you can
• Get your child involved in other activities to build confidence
• If you have the means, get your child in therapy 

What your child can do:

• Get off of Formspring and other social networks
• Tell, tell, tell! Talk to parents, and your support network
• Keep record of all bully incidents
• Manage your anger
• Reach out to other kids in your school that are being bullied
• Do not let the bullies know that they got to you
• Role-play