Say NO to bullying: 8 ways to bully-proof your child

Build your child’s self-esteem.

Bullies target children they perceive to be weak. It is important to build your child’s self-esteem from a young age with positive reinforcement.

Encourage your child to make friends.

It is important to teach your child to develop social skills and make good friends. Bullies rarely target children in groups. They tend to isolate loners.

Maintain a very close relationship with your child

Talk to your kid daily about their day. If your relationship is close, your child will feel comfortable opening up to you about problems they are facing in school, including bullying.

Watch closely for changes in their behaviour

If your child suddenly goes from being a happy and open child to being introverted or silent, talk to them and find out what is wrong. If your child refuses to go to school, this is a clear indicator something is wrong and further investigating needs to be done.

Build a relationship with your child’s teacher

It is important to maintain a good rapport with your child’s teacher. They will be able to help you if your child is not forthcoming with information. You can also talk to the teacher if you know that your child is being bullied. They will be able to intervene and find a solution.

Teach your child how to handle bullies and avoid them.

Bullying usually starts with verbal abuse. Teach your child to stand up for themselves in these instances. Kids should also know how to avoid bullies. They usually target victims where adults are not present. Therefore, if your kid is being bullied, they should avoid unsupervised areas in the school.

Teach your child to intervene when another is being bullied

To help take a stand against bullying, teach your child to stand up for other kids who are being bullied. If the bully is outnumbered he will back down.

Lastly, make sure your child doesn't become a bully.

Raise your child to be compassionate by being compassionate towards him. If you spank them to teach them a lesson, they will feel that physical violence is the way to deal with problems. They will harbor anger towards you and in turn, take it out on a defenseless child in school.

Written by

Minoli Almeida

bullyingChild Safety