Guidance: Bullying
The following information has been adapted from www.no-bully.com
What can parents do if their child is a victim?
Encourage your child to share their problems with an adult. Ensure them that this is not tattling. Listen attentively.
Praise your child for their accomplishments. A confident child is less likely to be targeted by bullies.
Search for talents and positive attributes that can be developed in your child.
Help your child make friends. Arrange play dates; encourage your child to join clubs, groups, etc.
Encourage your child to participate in sports. Physical exercise can result in better physical coordination and increased self-esteem.
Improve your child’s social skills. Encourage kind behavior.
Talk to your child about strategies for dealing with the bully. Role-play the ideas to build confidence.
Work with other parents to ensure that children in the neighborhood are supervised closely.
Seek assistance from school personnel.
Is your child a bully?
Typical bully behavior includes:
Frequently hits, kicks, pushes, or chokes other kids.
Has been observed name-calling, threatening, taunting, teasing, spreading rumors, excluding others, or verbally attacking other kids.
Manipulates friendships.
Makes faces or obscene gestures.
General characteristics of possible bullies:
Physically bigger, stronger
Hot-tempered, impulsive, low frustration tolerance
Difficulty conforming to rules
Defiant and aggressive toward adults
Good at talking themselves out of situations
Have average or better-than-average self-esteem
Likely to engage in antisocial behavior
What can parents of the bully do?
Make it clear that you take bullying seriously and won’t tolerate such behavior in the future.
Develop consistent family rules. When those rules are broken, use consistent, non-hostile, negative consequences.
Set a good example.
Monitor and supervise your child’s activities.
Help your child practice less aggressive and more appropriate behavior. Reward improvement.
Stay in contact with school personnel in order to monitor your child’s behavior at school.
Seek help from a mental health professional.
