According to educational sources, here are some things you can do to help your child become more aware of bullying behaviors:
- Encourage your child to talk about how to make friends, how they treat their friends and how to be a good friend.
- Discuss with your child what bullying is and what kinds of behaviors demonstrate bullying.
- As you watch television with your child, help him or her identify language, dialogue, or actions that demonstrate bullying behavior, such as "put downs" or "jokes" in comedy shows.
- As your child deals with bullying situations at home or school, be open to discussing ways in which he or she can handle those situations. Discuss how to avoid bullying situations.
- Help your child become sensitive to his or her own behaviors or language that may be of a bullying nature as he or she deals with siblings or friends.
CONFLICT VS. BULLYING
CONFLICT is a disagreement that happens when people want different things. The people involved in a conflict have equal power to solve the problem. They are not purposely trying to hurt each other.
BULLYING is unfair and one-sided. It happens when someone keeps hurting, frightening, threatening, or leaving someone out on purpose.
5 WAYS TO HANDLE A BULLYING SITUATION
- Walk away; find your own friends
- Tell an adult and get the teasing stopped fast
- Ignore the tease, which takes the fun out of it
- Stand up for yourself without fighting
- Do what you feel is right, not what others tell you to do
REPORTING VS. TATTLING
| REPORTING |
TATTLING |
| Purpose to keep someone safe |
To get someone in trouble |
| Need help from an adult |
You can solve the problem |
| Important |
Unimportant |
| Harmful or dangerous |
Harmless |
| Behavior is on purpose |
Behavior is an accident |
Olweus Bullying Prevention Program (PDF 214 KB)
National Coalition Building Institute (PDF 27 KB)