David Baxter PhD
Late Founder
How to be Bully-Free
Kids Awareness Series
March 9th, 2010
Bullying at school is such a long standing problem, however schools and parents have become so much more proactive in the past several years to help solve this issue. If you as a parent think your child is being bullied, then ask your child. Most children will NOT tell parents this information because they are truly embarrassed or afraid to say anything. Adults should take the lead and ask their child about behaviors in their classroom not just about academics. If you suspect that your child is being bullied then here are very simple questions that you can ask your child:
Without a doubt, the very last thing that a parent should do is confront the bully or the bully?s parents. This will not help your child and will most likely make things worse for your child. Also, do not blame your child for what has happened, bullying is never the victim?s fault and they did nothing to cause this.
What should be done is to contact your child?s teacher and request a meeting privately with him/her. Bring the written information with you and ask for your child?s teacher?s input about the bullying problem. Find out what the teacher plans on doing about the bullying problem in order to put a stop to it. Help your child develop assertiveness skills in order to be more bully resistant. As a parent, make a real effort to spend time with your child and encourage him/her to talk about how they feel and to develop their social skills. Confident children with good social skills are much less likely to be bullied than kids who are not assertive and struggle socially. Remember, as parents you are your child?s primary teacher.
Excerpt from The Bully Free Classroom, by Allan L. Beane, Ph.D.
Kids Awareness Series
March 9th, 2010
Bullying at school is such a long standing problem, however schools and parents have become so much more proactive in the past several years to help solve this issue. If you as a parent think your child is being bullied, then ask your child. Most children will NOT tell parents this information because they are truly embarrassed or afraid to say anything. Adults should take the lead and ask their child about behaviors in their classroom not just about academics. If you suspect that your child is being bullied then here are very simple questions that you can ask your child:
- ?Do you have a bully in your classroom, a kid that is always mean to everyone??
- ?Does the bully ever say anything to you??
- ?How do you respond when the bully picks on you??
- ?Who does the bully pick on most of the time??
- ?How do you know that he/she is a bully? What exactly does he/she do that makes you think that??
Without a doubt, the very last thing that a parent should do is confront the bully or the bully?s parents. This will not help your child and will most likely make things worse for your child. Also, do not blame your child for what has happened, bullying is never the victim?s fault and they did nothing to cause this.
What should be done is to contact your child?s teacher and request a meeting privately with him/her. Bring the written information with you and ask for your child?s teacher?s input about the bullying problem. Find out what the teacher plans on doing about the bullying problem in order to put a stop to it. Help your child develop assertiveness skills in order to be more bully resistant. As a parent, make a real effort to spend time with your child and encourage him/her to talk about how they feel and to develop their social skills. Confident children with good social skills are much less likely to be bullied than kids who are not assertive and struggle socially. Remember, as parents you are your child?s primary teacher.
Excerpt from The Bully Free Classroom, by Allan L. Beane, Ph.D.
