Bullying can take the form of verbal abuses, physical assault, derisive comments, teasing and ganging up against a child or some children. Parents have an important role to play in handling bullying not only at home and neighborhood but also in schools.
The following measures are suggested for the same:
i) If bullying by their child is reported by the school or by the parents of other children, they should take immediate action.
ii) They could help their child to learn how they can get the same thing done without resorting to bullying.
iii) They should help the child understand what happens to the child who is bullied.
iv) On their part at home parents must make sure they do not bully the child to obey them and do what they desire the child to do.
v) They should act as role models for their children by using positive nonviolent methods to solve a problem or issue.
vi) They must make it clear to their children that bullying at any place will not be tolerated and would warrant punishment.
vii) They should nurture and build self-esteem and self-confidence in their child so that he or she neither bullies nor become victims of bullying.
Additional Important Tips
viii) Rewarding children with praise and appreciation for showing consideration to others would help in a big way.
ix) Making their children aware of the existence of bullies in school and outside and how to handle them with confidence would also help.
x) Parents should create an environment at home which gives importance to developing feelings of togetherness and bonding, where children can learn positive ways of dealing with difficult situations either at school or in the neighborhood.
xi) The parents should be a friend and philosopher to their own child so that he can trust parents and communicate their problems without any hesitation.
xii) Parents must help the child learn to be assertive in situations where it is required, e.g when facing a bully, the child can ask the bully to STOP that behavior quite assertively and not show timidity or fear.
xiii) Where necessary, the parent should take the principal or the teacher into confidence and request their help to prevent such bullying.
xiv) If one’s own child is timid, shy and withdrawn despite all the help that they give, it would be better to seek the help of an expert (a psychologist or school counselor) to help the child develop skills to overcome the deficiencies in his personality.
Finally, the above-mentioned measures can go a long way in not just curbing bullying behavior in children but also helping them not to develop other bad habits and thus make them mentally healthy.
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