Thanks to TakePart for sponsoring today’s discussion.
With Charlie just finishing his first year of preschool and as the discussion begins to turn towards school, I must admit that my fears as a parent regarding bullying are definitely becoming more prominent in my mind. When I hear stories in the news and from friends about kids being bullied, about their kids being the bullies, and about the some time volatile environment that our kids face every day, it scares me to think about what might lie ahead for us and for our families.
In the day and age of the internet, bullying isn’t restricted to the playground. It can be found in school, at church, during extracurricular activities and on the internet. As Charlie begins to grow, I’m beginning to explore some effective ways to handle bullying and ensuring that he doesn’t become one!
1. Keep the Lines of Communication Open
As your kids grow, try your best to maintain open and honest conversation. The more they can trust you, the more likely they are to confide when they or someone else is being bullied.
2. Encourage them to be individuals.
From an early age, encourage them to be their own person without needing to be influenced by others or the world. This can be easier said than done, but also consider your own life. Do you seek acceptance from the world? If so, your child just might seek that same thing.
3. Be proactive.
If you hear of bullying or if your child is being bullied, tell the school or teacher. Have conferences about how to change these actions and move forward as a school and class. Do not quite fighting for better circumstances and don’t take no for an answer. Your child deserves it.
As parents of the future generations, we are responsible for the children we give to the world. Let’s work together to create a beautiful place where they and others can feel safe and loved. Take the TakePart pledge to stop bullying. Childhood bullying can have lifelong impact, leading to depression, anxiety, substance abuse and even suicide. But we have the power to prevent it, if we take action.
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My children have not experience bullying and I hope they never will. I have told them if anyone creates a problem with them, then make sure they let their teacher know and also me. These are some great points that you have given.
It is so sad when children have to deal with bullying, just makes my heart hurt. Thank you for taking the time to write this and for giving us some great points!
Being proactive with bullying is SO important! I was bullied as a child, and I know first hand how much damage it can do to self esteem. With my children, we talked about self esteem from a very early age, and talked about how to handle bullies. I think it has a lot to do with why my kids like themselves despite kids that are mean.
Such sage advise. Bullying scares me, too and I’m constantly talking to my kids to let them know they can always turn to me, whatever the reason.
I was really nervous when my daughter was at Charlie’s age, about the same issues. Our school was parent friendly, and communication was encouraged. During a parent/teacher visit at our home, her teacher asked what was one of the things that concerned me most, and I told her about my fear of bullying. She piped right up and said “Mrs. Towns – you don’t have to worry about Bobbi where that is concerned. She is not gonna let anybody bully her or anybody else in my classroom. I can tell you right now – she is the champion of non bullying. Let me put those fears to rest.” After that day, that fear was gone for me. My kids don’t like bullying any more than I do, not just for themselves but for any other child. Your Charlie will probably be the same way as long as you keep communication open and discuss with him what bullying is and how it makes people feel and act!
Elizabeth Rising Early, 31 Days
I don’t have kids, but I know this is such an important topic. To this day, I remember being taunted as an overweight kid. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
It’s so sad how horrible kids are to others anymore. These are really good tips!
You have solid practical advice here and I totally agree on being proactive!
My oldest is in school. Great tips, we’ve seen her stand up to kids that were bullying a classmate last year. When talking to her about it, she was like no one should be treated that way- it’s common sense mom. Such a proud mom. Praying that this continues.
I hope one day there will be a world with NO bullying!