Playground Bullies: 3 Things to Teach Your Child
Bullies are a problem, but your child needs to learn to fight his own battles. Besides, problems between children usually get blown out of proportion with the involvement of adults. It is best that you are in the know when bullying exists, but knowing doesn’t mean stepping in.
I’m sure you would feel bad to find out that someone is bullying your child. However, if you take a step back instead and guide your children on how to handle the situation, you would be creating a long-term solution.
Here are 3 things you can share with your children to help them handle playground bullies.
1. Ignore and walk away
Explain why bullies are the way they are. Although there could be a lot of reasons why some kids become bullies, most cases point to getting little attention from their parents.
Tell your children that these bullies actually need help. Physically fighting back would just make these bullies angrier, aggravating the situation. The best first step is to ignore. If they take over the swing set, just walk away. Explain to your child that bullies who take over the playground would end up without playmates and they’ll realize it isn’t any fun.
2. Suggest befriending the bully
While movies suggest that bullies travel in groups of three (one lead bully plus two sidekicks), most bullies walk alone. Since most kids become bullies due to lack of attention, they could have problems socializing and having friends.
Ask your child about what else he notices about the bully. A sliver of kindness can mean that it would be possible to befriend the bully.
3. Let the teachers know about the bully
Bullies often threaten to do something bad if your child tells. However, making teachers aware of the situation, even when bullying happens outside the school, might just be the key to putting a stop to bullying. Teachers can contact the bully’s parents and begin a dialogue to help the child.
Not only will this save your child from the bully, you might end up saving the rest of the neighborhood kids.
March 22nd, 2009 at 5:39 pm
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