Back to School: How to Deal with Bullying and Meanness
Watch as Parents helps your child deal with bullying and meanness when going back to school! Although we hate to admit it, kids can be mean. Your child may encounter bullying at some point during the school year. Kids can be impulsive in the things they do and say, as their ability to empathize with others isn't fully developed yet. Bullying, on the other hand, is different as it involves deliberate or repeated actions that hurts someone usually less powerful or weaker. This power difference means that bullying in schools needs to be stopped by an authoritative adult, like a teacher. Talk over options with your child's teacher about how to stop bullying and keep your child safe. Help them cope with more typical meanness by teaching her to avoid overreacting. Children who are picked on usually have big emotional reactions, like yelling or hitting, which could make them more of a target. Teach her to shrug her shoulders and walk away if she gets picked on. Practice assertive responses to stop bullying. If she's being teased, encourage her to respond with "So what?" to help her feel more confident at school. Cultivating existing friendships and starting new ones are more great ways to stop bullying. Children with one or two good friends are less likely to be bullied, so help your child find new friends in her class and set up play dates outside of school. Although you may not be able to shield your child from meanness forever, you can help her avoid school bullying by boosting her confidence in herself! Watch more Back-to-School videos: www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiYyYW4hzpE&list=PL_XXfDtFe5UVP4IziM9heYLNcnFsou16T Bully-Proof Your Child: How to Deal with Bullies: www.parents.com/kids/problems/bullying/bully-proof-your-child-how-to-deal-with-bullies/ Subscribe to Parents: www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=parents Official Website: www.parents.com/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/parentsmagazine Twitter: twitter.com/parentsmagazine Pinterest: pinterest.com/parentsmagazine/ Instagram: instagram.com/parentsmagazine#
