Bullying help - Bystander training

What would your child do if they saw someone being bullied?

What would they do if they knew someone was making up nasty lies or rumours about another child?

What would they do if they saw a child threaten another class mate with physical violence?

Would they run and hide?

Would they stand by and do nothing?

Tell a teacher?

Get involved?

The fact that so many parents can't answer these questions, is reason to believe that we don't do enough at home to educate our children on how to deal with bullying situations. You can help prepare your child by talking to them about what to do if they are confronted with a bullying situation. I'm not talking about what to do if they are bullied, but rather what they should do if they see someone else in need of bullying help.

Help them identify the people they can talk to and trust.

Teach them how to be assertive and defend a victim of bullying.

Try a few role-plays in your own home to see how your child might respond in different situations and provide bullying help.

Show them picture or read them stories about bullying situations and help them identify the feelings of different characters in the pictures/stories and the action that they could take.

You'll find some great picture activity cards on our website www.kidslessons4life.com that you can access and download for free.

Bullying schools - Target the bystander

Did you know that bystanders are present in approximately 85% of bullying cases - whereas adults are rarely present?

When people think of bullying they usually think of two parties - the bully and the person being bullied. It's the third party - the bystanders - that need our attention most. If bystanders are present in 85% of bullying cases, we need to educate them on how to respond when they are confronted with a bullying situation.

It is not enough to stand by and ignore it or use the defence 'I didnt say anything; I didnt get involved'. Bullying behaviour is reinforced when bystanders do not get involved.

Over the coming weeks I will share with you some tips and advice on how to educate young children on what to do when they witness a bullying situation.

If you have any questions, concerns or stories you would like to share about bullying schools, please post them here or get connected through our website forum. We'd love to hear from you.

Six-year-old bullying case

There is some hot press about at the moment on the case of six-year old Taner.
Yesterday the Herald Sun reported 'Parents of a six-year-old boy may take legal action to remove an alleged bully who has been tormenting their son in class.'

The replies posted to this article have been passionate, direct and somewhat blunt (to put it nicely!)

Taner has "allegedly been kicked, punched, ridiculed and verbally abused...so distressed by the bullying that he was admitted to hospital after vomiting and complaining of stomach cramps."

How would you feel if Taner was your child?

It is alleged that the 'bully' has autism.

Does this change your feelings or opinion about the situation?

Would you go to the press or threaten legal action as is the case with Taner's parents?

The school and department "confirmed it was investigating the matter..'working with both families to resolve the issue' "

Of course we cant believe everything we read. The article published is full of allegations. It does however raise some interesting questions and I would love to hear your thoughts about it.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/six-year-old-taner-home-sick-of-being-bullied/story-e6frf7kx-1225907054734

Bullying posts on YouTube

I have recently viewed many YouTube videos that address the issue of bullying. There are a few things I noticed that were consistent regardless of which country they were produced in.

1 - People are aware of the harmful affects of bullying.
2 - People of all ages are suffering from the harmful affects of bullying.
3 - The most frightening of all - people continue to post comments about bullying being 'just a part of life'.

Bullying may be a part of our current life, but it is not an acceptable part of life. If we continue to tolerate bullying behaviour in schools, playgrounds and workplaces around the world, we will never see a difference.

Bullying schools is a global issue. We can make a difference, but only if we say 'no' to bullying. Don't accept it as 'just a part of life'!