There are additional anti-bullying actions parents can take. Bullying happens in every school, but with an effective bullying prevention program, bullying can be reduced. If your child is being bullied, chances are that there are other children in the school who are having similar experiences.
Help your child become more resilient to bullying. Suggest and facilitate music, athletics, and art activities. Doing so may help your child be more confident among his or her peers.
Encourage your child to make contact with friendly students in his or her class. Your child's teacher may be able to suggest students with whom your child can make friends, spend time, or collaborate on work.
Help your child meet new friends outside of the school environment. A new environment can provide a "fresh start" for a child who has been bullied repeatedly.
Teach your child safety strategies. Teach him or her how to seek help from an adult when feeling threatened by a bully. Talk about whom he or she should go to for help and role-play what he or she should say. Assure your child that reporting bullying is not tattling.
Ask yourself if your child is being bullied because of a learning difficulty or a lack of social skills? If your child is hyperactive, impulsive, or overly talkative, the child who bullies may be reacting out of annoyance. This doesn't make the bullying right, but it may help to explain why your child is being bullied. If your child easily irritates people, seek help from a counselor so that your child can better learn the informal social rules of his or her peer group.
Home is where the heart is. Make sure your child has a safe and loving home environment where he or she can take shelter, physically and emotionally. Always maintain open lines of communication with your child.
Work with parents and school officials. If your school does not have official anti-bullying policies or an active bullying prevention program, work with other parents and your school officials to develop one.
This material was organized by Shiryl Pritts, Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention at the Windber Research Institute. It was resourced from Take a Stand, Lend a Hand Stop Bullying Now! U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration campaign on bullying awareness. (http://stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov)
Tips for Parents