5 Ways To Prevent Your Kids From Becoming Targets of Bully’s

1 in every 5 students in high schools complained of bullying last year. With bullying making national news nowadays, communities and schools have now started taking a strong anti-bullying stand to protect students. 

As smart parents, you of course understand that this is not enough and that you probably need to be more vigilant to make sure your children are not becoming a victim of the bully’s. Sure you cannot guard your kids all the time but if you help them understand a few things, they will definitely be more comfortable in seeking your help to keep all bullies at bay. Given below are the five tips that will help you bully-proof your child:

1.                  Let Them Talk – Encourage your child to open up and confide in you if he or she is being bullied in school. Don’t put them down if they have been unable to fight the bully back. Rather talk to the child about bullying and tell them about your experiences with bullies. Also, speak to the school authorities and seek their help in resolving the issue without troubling the child.

2.                  Find Out What The Bully Wants – When you encourage your child to talk to you, you can find out what the bully wants? Is it the child’s lunch, money, the gadgets, or the new funky costume wigs they just brought? In such a case, let the child leave the object of temptation at home and you can observe if this resolves the situation.

3.                  Encourage Them to Stay in Groups – Teach your child that bullies target loners and so, encourage him or her to be with friends whenever he or she is at their lockers or at any other time. Being in a group protects the child from bullies. If your child does not have too many friends, you may want to buy spring party supplies and organize a small party to help him get along and have fun with other students.

4.                  Discourage Retaliate – Being calm and not retaliating is sometimes the best way to deal with bullies. Your child can ignore the remarks made and just walk away from the situation. If the child does not retaliate, the bully will soon go in search of other targets.

5.                  Involve The School – You may talk to the bully’s parents but that rarely resolves the issue. If you still wish to talk to bully’s parents, it is a good idea to involve the school authorities and ask the school counselor to intervene on your behalf.

Working with your child can not only help him or her but also resolve the issue. Be calm and counsel the child to be calm too. Address the problem in a logical and calm way so that your child can continue going to school without being bothered again.