Thursday, September 23, 2010

Bullying help - what are you teaching your child?


Recently my daughter spoke to me about a boy she knows who has been hitting and punching other children. My initial advice to her was 'stay away from him' (followed by a lengthy conversation about why it is not ok to do that to friends).
That got me thinking ... would my advice have been the same if she was 13 or 16 years old? Basically what I am training her to do is walk away if she sees someone being bullied. That advice might protect my daughter, but if every parent did the same, who would help my daughter if she was the one needing bullying help?
I'm not suggesting that a child rush in to protect someone they see being physically bullied, but certainly they can 'get bullying help' or 'tell an adult'. If the bullying is verbal, better advice might include something like 'stick up for your friends' or 'tell the bully that what they are doing is mean/not ok'.
What are you training your child to do when they are confronted with a bullying situation?
....and don't think it won't happen to your child.
1 in every 5 children experiences some form of bullying at school.
Make sure you prepare them now for what they are likely to encounter in the future.
Not sure how - check out www.kidslessons4life.com/demo for more bullying help.