Bullying amongst the kids is quickly becoming a serious concern. If you have been ignoring the mild complaints of your child about some particular mate at school, it might be the high time when you should start paying due attention to his words. As a parent, it is your responsibility to ensure that your child is not being a victim of bullying which can seriously affect his success at school, mental growth and well being.
According to reports, bullying amongst the middle school children has reached so far that many schools have found it necessary to have a special committee to deal with these matters. As per the studies, regular bullying can affect self-confidence of your child and might work as a serious hindrance in his psychological growth.
Proofing your child from bullies is certainly the best way to deal with this growing problem. It is not really difficult to make sure that your child cannot be bullied by some other kids but in order to make it really effective it is also important that you show your continuous support towards your child. This article will provide you with information about how to make your child bully proof.
Let your child know what is bullying
There are many incidents when children are not actually able to realize that what some other kid might be throwing at them is unacceptable and punishable in the society. It is important that you teach your child about bullying so that he is able to differentiate between a friendly brush with a kid and bullying, distinctly. Inform your kid that if someone is doing something regularly, that is hurting him physically or mentally, it should not be tolerated and needs to be changed.
Show your support
When kids are bullied they often find it hard to accept it or to discuss the incidents with their parents. So, make sure that your child knows that if he is being bullied you are there to stand by him. If he has the idea that you will criticize him for being a victim of bullying, he will never open up to you, closing up the ways to make him bully proof. So, let your child know that till he is doing the right things, your support is always with him and hence he needs not to fear anyone.
Discuss the psychology of bullies with your child
This is another important step to make your child bully proof. In most of the cases, bullies are kids who are mistreated and disrespected at their own homes. These kids start tormenting other children at school just to grab attention and to feel in-power which they lack completely in their own homes. Discussing the psychology of the bullies with your child will make him realize that there is actually nothing to be scared of the bullies which will certainly help him to deal with the situation in a better way.
Teach your child how to behave in front of bullies
Bullies feed on the fear that they grow in the mind of their victims. Teach your child that if he is anxious, angry, crying or extremely scared in front of his bully, the bully will only enjoy the situation and push him more. Being able to control his emotions in front of his bully can be of great help. Once the bully realizes that your child is no more being affected by his actions, slowly but certainly he will lose interest in your child. However, being able to control his emotions might be difficult for a child and hence it needs time and serious guidance from your part.
Suggest your child to team up
One of the most effective ways to bully proof your child is to suggest him to team up with other mates at the school. Bullies are least likely to attack when their victims are in a group. So, tell your child to make friends with other kids at the school, who might or might not be a victim of the same bully. Teaming up with other sober kids at school can be helpful to boost up the confidence of your child and once your child is not alone, the chance of being bullied will also reduce. However, while teaming up with other kids can be most helpful to tackle bullying at school do not encourage your child to directly engage with the bully in a fight or argument which can take a turn for the worst.
Remove the bait
Often bullies target particular kids to gain advantages. If you are giving your child some special lunch or some unique gadgets or stationeries for use in the school, it might be actually attracting the bully to your child. So, the best way to bully proof your child is to make sure that your child do not carry anything special with him to the school. Neutralize the situation by providing him with lunch and stationaries that are common and are used by most of the other students at the school.
Inspire confidence in your child
Helping your child to be self-confident can be really helpful to make him bully proof. Once your child knows that he is good at things and he is not less than anyone in anyway, it is sure to make him more confident about himself, which can reduce any psychological effects of bullying on him. Bullies affect the confidence of children and often make them feel guilty for things like being overweight or inability to do something in some particular way. Teach your child that everyone has their own ways of doing things as well as special abilities to be better at certain things. Once your child is confident about his own abilities, he will naturally be least affected by the bullies.
Engage him in positive activities
Engaging children in positive activities is very important to ensure their proper mental growth. Once your child is engaged in positive things and enjoys positive emotions, it will naturally be much easier for him to brush off any bullying incidents. It is much easier for kids to cope with and to forget any not-so-good incidents if they are happy and active in their life. So, if you are able to nurture positive emotions in your kid, it will certainly make him bully proof as he will stop getting affected by these incidents.
Teach your child problem solving skills
Teaching your child to solve common life problems on his own, can be helpful to make him efficient in handling problems like bullying. Your child should be able to accept the problems of life as they are and have the idea of how to make them better. It might seem too early to teach your child these skills, but ingraining these skills early will only make it easier for him to handle life. Teach your child how he should think once he has a problem in life and how he should react to untoward incidents like bullying.
Do not hesitate to intervene
While it is really important to teach your child the above to make him bully proof, also do not hesitate to intervene in case it is necessary. However, do never take the matters in your own hands or get engaged in a brawl with the bully or his family directly. In serious situations, inform a teacher at the school who can keep an eye on your child to make sure that he is not harmed by the bully or inform the family of the bully amicably and ask them to control their child for his own good.
