Bullying is the act of repetitively harming an individual emotionally, physically or mentally. One out of four students are bullied each week. Children who are being bullied on a daily basis need to learn how to put an end to it. Though standing up to it is the commonly touted solution, truthfully, it is hard for them to stand up to it or to speak up about it. This blog aims to help you understand which strategies you should encourage your children to implement to overcome bullying.
First and foremost, they should try to show minimal reaction to the bully. The purpose of bullying is that they belittle someone in order to make themselves appear better. Thus, they aim to make you feel as unhappy as possible. Nevertheless, they will not succeed if you are able to put on a brave face and make it look as if they are not getting to you. If you’re a victim, you should always try to outsmart the bully. For example, if someone constantly comes up to you and makes jokes about you, act like it doesn’t matter – or even make jokes about yourself! If you join in, it takes all the satisfaction out of it. You should always try to be the bigger person in these situations and the bully will instantly find hurting other people’s feelings less fulfilling.
Alternatively, if ignoring them doesn’t work, they should feel comfortable to immediately inform you and the teachers. You are in the perfect position to support and assist your children through this tough time as you have the life experience to know who to talk to and how to get help.Teachers can take actions such as contacting the bully’s parents, removing the bully from your child’s class and being present during school hours as a support network and sanctuary.
Furthermore, bullying can leave emotional scars. To aid with that, be sure to talk to a counsellor. A majority of schools in Australia have school counsellors who are happy to deal with students who are going through hard circumstances; it’s their job after all!. They are easily able to sympathise with your issues and take you through effective strategies for bringing normality back to school life.
The school counsellor is a great option, however, if you’re looking for another source of help, it is useful to make your kids aware of Kids Helpline. Kids Helpline is Australia’s only free, private and confidential, telephone and online counselling service specifically for young people aged between 5 and 25. If your child is finding it hard to speak to anyone about what they’re going through, the confidentiality of this helpline is perfect for it. They can discuss various topics with the helpline such as, body image, bullying, depression and etc. Even if you’ve just had a bad day, they will still be happy to help you overcome your sadness. On their website, you or your child can also access tips on homework completion and healthy lifestyles. They also provide success stories about children that Kids Helpline have counselled that you may be able to source hope from. They have hundreds of qualified counsellors who are waiting to assist you through your troubles, therefore they are a great organisation to talk to whenever you need them. If your child is made aware of this, it empowers them to be able to help themselves wherever life takes a turn for the worse.
When you have reached a point in your life where your child has recovered from bullying and the pain that comes with it, what should you do now? Well, you should realise that what has happened to your child, is happening to thousands of children around the world. It is vital that you encourage your child to take an action against bullying. Whether it’s online or during lunchtime at school, they can utilise these tips for the sake of other kids or simply make others aware of them. Even simply extending friendship to those in need can make a world of difference to someone who feels that they are struggling alone. 85% of people are bystanders to bullying behaviours. We must change that. The change begins with you.
K12 academy organizes different events in order to deal with bullying in schools. Come & join our live events.