Talking to Your Children About Bullying

Worried About A Child Being Bullied

It is not unusual for children to find it difficult to talk about being bullied, as they may feel embarrassed or scared of what may happen if they speak up. As parents you may see your child saying that they do not about feel well more than usual, avoid social interactions, behave in an anxious manner about going to school or spot unexplained bruises. If you decide to ask your child whether they are being bullied, don’t be surprised if they are not honest about what is happening to them. For this reason, you need to think about the best way of speaking to your child.  If you feel that your child is not ready to talk to you, you need to reassure them by letting them know that you will be there for them regardless of anything. You also need to let your child see that you will not do anything without discussing it with them first. By doing this, you will help your child to feel confident that they can confide in you.

Advising Your Children

As a parent it’s easy to tell your child to fight back. It is normal to feel angry about the fact that your child has been subjected to bullying. It may even be that you don’t want your child to continue to be bullied, so you tell them to stand up for themselves. However it is important not to tell your children to deal with bullying with violence. This situation could end up getting worse and result in somebody getting hurt. The best advice that you can give your child is:

• Speak to an adult

Parents and school staff can all do something to stop bullying. By speaking up you can address and overcome the situation.

• Open up about it

Talk about what is happening, with something that you trust, such as a friend, sibling or a teacher. By talking to somebody, you may find a solution to this issue and stop you feeling alone.

• Be brave and ignore

Be firm with a bully and walk away from them. Try and ignore anything that they say that is hurtful.  If you ignore the person that is bullying you, you’ll show them that you do not care what they are doing and this should make them bored of trying to bully you.

• Don’t get angry

A bully wants you to get angry and it is perfectly normal to feel angry. However it is best to try not to show your anger to them, as this will make your bully feel powerful. Don’t react to the bully or show them how you feel. You could try using cool down method such as taking deep breaths, counting down from 10 or writing down anything that makes you feel angry. Ideally you need to teach your child to not give away any emotions in their face and to avoid laughing, smirking or smiling which may just fuel the bully.