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All kids involved in bullying—whether they are bullied, or see bullying—can be affected. It is important to support all kids involved to make sure the bullying doesn’t continue and effects can be minimized.
What should you do as parents?
Listen and focus on your child. Understand what happened and show them that you want to help.
Make sure your child understands that bullying is not his fault.
Give advice about what to do.
This may involve role-playing and thinking through how the child might react if the bullying occurs again.
Work together to resolve the situation and protect your bullied child.
- Ask the child being bullied what can be done to make him or her feel safe. Remember that changes to routine should be minimized. Since he/she is not at fault, the child should not be singled out. For example, consider rearranging classroom or bus seating plans for everyone.
Be persistent. Bullying may not end overnight. Commit to making it stop and consistently support the bullied child.
Avoid these mistakes:
- Never tell the child to ignore the bullying.
- Do not blame the child for being bullied. Even if he or she provoked the bullying, no one deserves to be bullied.
- Do not tell the child to physically fight back against the kid who is bullying. It could get the child hurt, suspended, or expelled.
- Parents should resist the urge to contact the other parents involved. It may make matters worse. School or other officials can act as mediators between parents.
Be persistent and Follow-up. Show a commitment to making bullying stop. Bullying may not end overnight. Since it is behavior that repeats or has the potential to be repeated, it takes consistent effort to ensure that it stops. 1
Dr Zeinab El Tahesh
Pediatrician
