Bullying is annoying, violent conduct among school aged children that includes real or perceived power unevenness. The behavior is recurrent, or has the probability to be repetitive, over time. Both kids who bully others and who are bullied may have severe problems with long term effects.
Nationwide, about 21% of students ages 12-18 experienced bullying as per National Center for Education Statistics and Bureau of Justice Statistics School Crime Supplement – PDF
So to tackle bullying what schools, parents and students can do?
Here are 4 smart psychologically recommended strategies that parents should work on at home to keep kids away from becoming bullying targets — and also end bullying which is already started:
Dialogue about the situation.
It is the first step; parent must do to handle this condition. Chatting about bullying with kids and after that share experiences with friends and family members. Parents must praise child for being courageous enough to discuss it and offer absolute support to your kid who opens up about this bullying problem. Refer to school and learn policies. Find out how staff and teachers can speak about the situation.
Playmate safety trick.
Parents should recommend to the children to set up buddy ship in school as two or more friends together standing in front of their lockers are less likely to be chosen than a kid who is all alone. Suggest your children to apt the buddy system and roam with friends where bullies may lurk like in front of school lockers in the bus or in the ground etc.
Stay cool & calm, carry on.
Kids should be taught at home that upon a bully raid, best guard is to remain peaceful, overlook upsetting comments, state the oppressor to stop, and just walk away. It is in bullies psyche to keep on hurting others and picking up targets. A kid, who isn’t easily tangled with, has better chances of staying away from bully’s sensor.
Parents must not try to fight the combat by themselves.
Mothers and Fathers are advised to never try to fight with the bullying issue alone. It is nice idea to talk to a bully’s parents but with a constructive way, it’s generally best to do so in a meeting where a school authority, such as a counselor, can mediate and facilitate both parties.