How to Empower your Child's Success against Bullying

Have you ever felt scared sending your child off to school knowing they would have the unpleasant task of dealing with a bully?  It’s a pretty helpless feeling. 

 Remember most of bullying is done cleverly in a way that keeps it under the radar making it very difficult to be seen or heard by teachers.  This means your child needs skills to handle situations on their own.  In fact among all the schools I have worked with teachers and principals have estimated that a full 90% of bullying occurring in schools today goes unseen, unheard and unreported.   Principals and teachers are only in the position to help if they are made aware of problems in a timely manner. The longer a child waits to report or doesn’t handle the situation properly the more likely the situation worsens. 

 As many parents know, children often times use the word “tattling” to describe anyone telling an authority figure.  Because children fear being made fun of or looked down on, many times instead of going to an adult they simply keep what has happened a secret.  The challenge is, without an interruption in the pattern of the bullying, more than likely, the bully will continue. 

 To encourage children to report bullying behavior when it happens it is important to help them see clearly the difference between the tattling and reporting.

 “Tattling” is when a child sees another child doing something that has nothing to do with him or another classmate and decides to tell a teacher for the personal enjoyment of watching the child get in trouble.  It is actually a form of bullying.

 “Reporting” is when a child takes a stand against someone that is intentionally being disrespectful to him or a classmate and the situation rises above the level of their social skills to handle with words. The child immediately lets the nearest authority figure know what has happened.  By reporting bullying behavior, it shows that your child has a strong self respect and caring for other classmates.

 By clearly defining the difference in your child’s mind between tattling and reporting, they will be armed with the correct judgment and feeling of social permission to report challenges so they aren’t allowed to escalate and get out of hand.  This ultimately helps everyone enjoy a great school year.