Dealing with Bullies in your Child’s School

Concerned that your child is being bullied?

A surprisingly large percentage of school going kids today will admit that they have been bullied or teased and some point in their school life. While bullying and teasing may sound similar, the critical difference between these two lay in the intent. Teasing can easily turn into bullying when it persists with the conscious intent to hurt another child. Even the seemingly schools today are struggling to cope with bullying and many choose to take active action to protect their students from such scenarios.

Here are a few things that parents should keep in mind when dealing with a situation where your child is getting bullied –

• Encourage your Children to Talk to You
  If you are worried that your child is being bullied, it is important that you open a line of conversation with them that allows them to speak with you. Find ways to make them comfortable and encourage them to share the entire story. 
• Speak to your Child’s Teacher
  Make sure that you connect with your child’s teacher as well as the administrators of the school to highlight the problem right away. Most good schools in Chandigarh will have a protocol in place with regards to the action that will be taking. When you report the incident, be sure to be specific about the events as well as who was involved. 
• Contact the Parents of the Offender
  If you feel that the bullying is persistent and that the parents will be open enough to work in cooperation with you, this is a recommended approach to consider. Call or email them in a way that is non-confrontational. Make sure that you are clear to them about your objective to resolve the matter together. 
• Coach your Child to Get Help
  Regardless of how your child is getting bullied, teaching him or her to fight back may not always be the best approach. Instead, teach him how to walk out of the situation and seek immediate help from a supervising adult or teacher. If your child is being bullied in a school bus or outside of school, ask him to stick to his friends as a bully is less likely to pick on a single kid who is a part of a larger group. However, you as a parent will still need to get involved. 

Finally, it is very critical that you teach your child to openly discuss bullying. Simply talking about your experience can help relieve some of the pain. Speaking with siblings, friends, guidance counsellors and parents can open doors to receiving some helpful solutions on coping with your troubles.

Also, try to avoid the bully whenever you can. Try not to give him or her a chance to bully you. Prevent run-ins, think ahead and avoid places where you will be forced to be with your bully alone. Take different routes from home to school and within school itself. Don’t at any cost skip class or go into hiding. Tell your child that he or she has all the right to be at school and benefit from the education as any other child.