Bullying
Do other kids do what they are told from your child? Are they scared or hesitant of your child? And does your child consider other people’s feelings? Those are some of reasons why kids bully other children. One of today’s major issues in school is bullying. However, it doesn’t always just happen just in schools. It can have a great effect on the victims and it has effects on the bullies themselves. A bully is the act to others using one or all of the following: verbal abuse, physical abuse and intimidation.
Helping a bully to stop picking on kids is a whole other situation than those being bullied. Persistence and patience is a virtue.
One thing to do is to put bullies in activities that are cooperative tasks. They can learn to interact in a healthier manner. Supervision is necessary. Teachers and parents should give praise and reinforce them every time they show positive social behavior. It will be easier to set down authority after they learn that they can get positive reactions with positive interactions.
If you think you may be a parent of a bully, you should ask, “Why are they so aggressive?” Bullies may be coping with some kind of difficult situations. They could be encouraged to be a bully by a person they respect. Also, it might be that they are being bullied or abused themselves, so they need to gain some control or power back in their life. There could be big changes in their family situation like a death, divorce, family violence or perhaps a parent lost a job. These are just some of the reasons that could trigger your child to act out towards their peers.
There are many ways to tell if your child is being bullied. There are signs that a parent should look out for such as: your child does not like going to school, is not happy, does not seem to have any friends, has bumps, bruises, cuts, torn clothing, is conveniently sick to avoid school, acts irritable, withdrawn, has trouble sleeping, or has sudden changes in friends. Those are the common signals that can show there is a possibility that your child is being bullied.
There are some steps that can be taken to help victims of bullying. As a parent, the first thing to do would be to ask how their day was. Don’t settle for one word answers and reach out and tell them that you are there to listen. Talk to the teachers. They can also offer some solutions. Sometimes schools needs to take a step in to help. Some children are bullied by their teachers. If so, set a teacher and principal meeting.
Do what you can to help brighten the situation and don’t settle for less in helping your child because, after all, they are worth it aren’t they?
Nadia Sumar
