Family Forum: Bullying

is a recently created feature on Glen Cove Patch that is part of a new initiative on our Patch sites to reach out to families.

Glen Cove Patch invites you and your circle of friends to help build a community of support for mothers and their families right here in Glen Cove.

Each week in Family Forum, our Moms Council of experts and smart moms take your questions, give advice and share solutions. 

So grab a cup of coffee and settle in as we start the conversation.

How do you talk to children about bullying?

Roni Jenkins, Moms Council Member

We’ve already had discussions with our kids about bullying. Although, my daughter, who is eight, is really the only one who really understands what it means. My youngest, almost four, is too young, and my middle son, who's five, understands most of what we speak about. I try to explain it in a way that they understand by reversing the tables on them: “how would you feel if someone did that to you?”

With three kids in our family there is a lot of teasing that can happen and sometimes two will partner together and gang up on the other, excluding him or her from whatever they are doing. In most cases if one of my kids is exhibiting bullying behavior it’s because they aren’t expressing their frustration of whatever is wrong and they take it out by hitting or pushing. We’re still working hard on getting them to control frustration by using their words rather than actions and by praising good behavior.