How to Teach Your Child about Bullying

The beginning of the school year is a great time for parents and guardians to talk with kids about bullying.  Bullying is a problem which affects millions of children and teenagers.  It takes place in many forms: physical, verbal, psychological/social and through means of social media.  Read on for several tips for talking to kids of any age about bullying.

Tips for talking to kids about bullying:

1. Teach assertiveness.  Model and teach your child peaceful ways to solve problems.
2. Teach empathy.  Talk to your child about helping others and taking action if she observes someone being hurt or hurting themselves. This is only if the situation is safe to do so.  Help build empathy in your child by talking about examples from television, movies and books.  Ask your child how she thinks others must feel in the various scenarios.
3. Hold children accountable.  Teach your child that if she is watching someone being bullied, then she has a responsibility to tell someone; otherwise this hurts the victim also.
4. Get to know your child’s friends.  Encourage your child to invite her friends over.
5. Be a good role model.  Model these skills whenever appropriate.

For more bullying resources, click here to watch our Bullying Webinar or click here to read about including bullying in your child’s IEP.

Reference: http://www.ncpc.org/topics/bullying/teaching-kids-about-bullying/what-to-teach-kids-about-bullying