In today’s society, bullying is being taken to an extreme where kids are fearful of peers/attending school, self-harming, traumatized, committing suicide and have low self-esteem amongst many other things. It’s a topic that has been normalized in the past and written off as usual kid behavior. However, is usual kid behavior more harmful than it used to be?
Bullying is difficult to prevent however following up with your children, school officials and other youth can soothe a bullying event and cause less damage to the child if there is a quick follow-up.
Have routine conversations with your children about appropriate and inappropriate talk with peers.
- Teach them how to express their emotions and manage them.
- Notify school officials to report the bullying and get a clear understanding of their policy and what next steps are going to be taken on their behalf.
- Provide your children with extra support and positive affirmations to help them positively view themselves.
- Speak with them about bullying and attempt to refrain from showing aggressive emotions in response.
- Show that you’re in control so that they feel protected giving you the information.
- Encourage your child to think about how it would feel if they were the other child who is being bullied.
- Teach them alternative ways to control & manage their anger ie: talking about their feelings to a friend or family member, reading a book, journaling, or doing physical activities.
- Keep them involved or connected with a community agency that encourages self-love and teaches life skills.
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Shawnee Palmer, LCSW, LAC
Alpine’s Empowerment Agency, LLC
Shawnee@alpinesempowermentagency.com
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