TIP SHEET

Bullying: Do Your Kids Witness It? What Parents Need To Know!

School starts soon and parents understand that if their kids are victims of bullying that they need to take action and help their kids.
But it’s very likely that they haven’t given any thought to how their kids are affected if they witness bullying.
Even if your child is only a bystander to bullying, you still need to talk to them about these incidents.
Learn how it affects them and educate them as to what they can do about it.

• Know your kid’s peers. Your kids and teens may be socializing with other kids cheer on the bullies. Insist on knowing their friends, whereabouts and activities.
• Develop a strong value system in your home. Send a clear message that bullying behavior is completely unacceptable.
• Talk to your kids regularly. Encourage your kids and teens to share problems with you and reassure them that it is not tattling.
• Communicate with your kids and teens. Let them know if they see someone being hurt in any way or experience it themselves, they should come to you immediately.
• Model tolerance and compassion. Kids and teens take their emotional cues from the adult role models in their lives. Stress the importance of treating all people with kindness, compassion and respect.
• Stress to your kids and teens that you support school policies and rules that create a safe place for all students to learn.
• Teach your kids and teens positive conflict resolution. Settle your own conflicts peaceably, and demonstrate how to manage anger without violence.

Parents must communicate constantly. The more educated you are, your kids and teens will be as well.