It’s hard for parents to see their children suffer from bullying at school. There’s just something with the fact that you can’t be there with them physically to prevent it. However, this should make you strive more on stopping this horrible situation your child is going through.
Data shows that bullying is prevalent in American schools. 19% percent of the students in grades 9-12 have reported some kind of bullying instances. That’s within 12 months before the survey was conducted. Your child could be one of those who are receiving a lot of undeserved treatment from other children.
These simple gestures and advice can help you teach your kids how to deal with bullies at school. Check out some of them and be with your child throughout the coping process.
Teach them coping mechanisms
It’s hard to deal with feelings after getting bullied. Kids would usually believe how weak they are after being treated badly. They also have the tendency to take it on other people that they think are weaker than them. Some would just be quiet about it and deal with it by themselves. Regardless of the responses, bullying can take a toll on a kid’s mental health.
This is why it’s essential to teach kids how to deal with bullies. Teach them to hold their tears back and think that whatever the bully is saying isn’t true at all. This will give the bullies a hard time to give your kids a hard time. If you’re noticing something’s wrong with how your kid is acting, ask them if there’s any problem. Your child might be going through something and it could be bullying. Make it easy for your kids to open up to you. It’s the only way for them to start to cope.
Let them know it’s not their fault
Assuring your child that there’s nothing wrong with them can be a tedious job. You’ll need to use a lot of your convincing powers to encourage them to stand up for themselves. Meanwhile, make sure that they know that the fault is not theirs. Explain to them that there are children who like to treat them badly for no reason except for self-gratification. Remind them to avoid conflicts with these kinds of people. Tell your child to talk to their teachers about the situation instead. You can also convince them to tell you any instances of this.
Practice responses to bullies
A simple “back off” can help your child to be avoided by bullies. Teach your kid some appropriate responses they can use whenever a bully teases them. You can teach them to say “stop that” or “leave me alone” then walk away as nothing happened. These kinds of verbal and physical responses can annoy the bullies. It can also help your children prevent further bullying. You can practice scenarios in your house so your child can prepare.
Talk to their teachers
Proper responses to bullies may make them back off. But there are instances when bullies are persistent. If your child is dealing with these types of bullies at school, you may want to involve the faculty. School is your child’s second home. Its environment should be safe for your kid. Now, some bullies are tenacious. Some can even become violent. Children are undeserving to deal with people with these kinds of behaviors. Get school personnel involved before these could escalate into something harmful.
Find alternative ways of studying
Children could get extremely traumatized by the situation. This may be the time to consider alternative means of learning. You can transfer them to another school. You want to make sure first that the new school you’re sending them to is safe. Or you can check if your child is okay with a homeschooling setup in the meantime. There may be programs suitable for them. You can look into charter schools that accept a limited number of students. Teachers there can focus more on students’ academic performance and behavior. That’s because there are only a few children they have to teach. This may help prevent bullying from happening.
Talk to the parents of the offenders
A child’s behavior may be a reflection of what they see every day. This could be how their parents behave or maybe something the bully watches on TV. Social media could also be a factor. There are many things that can contribute to a bully’s attitude. While we can’t really know or judge how they ended up like that, you can tell their parents how they’re acting towards your child. It’ll be up to the parents on how to discipline their child after this. You have to exert all efforts to make sure this bullying chain stops.
It’s very challenging for a parent to defend their children from bullies at school. If only you could be with them while they’re dealing with bullies in real-time, you would have done that. But your kid could only use your help. Make sure that you’re helping them the best you can. Always express your support for them in this difficult endeavor.
