Good Parenting

Bullying is fairly common in schools and almost thirty percent of children go through being bullied at one point or another during the course of their school life.

Parents tend to have a very difficult time in dealing with their child being bullied. Most parents simply report their concerns to the school authorities and this sometimes aggravates the situation leading to more bullying and/or teasing of the child.

Bullying can have grave consequences on the victim and the matter must be taken seriously by the parents. Parents can try the teaching their child “the avoidance tactic” in which the child tries to avoid the bully as much as possible. This however is discouraged by professionals due to the fact that it can make the child run away from his/her problems in the future instead of solving them.

Parents can schedule a meeting with the parents of the bully. This in practice is one of the best ways to tackle the situation. A meeting with the parents of the bully can help since many times parents are unaware that their child is a bully.

There have been quite a few initiatives by students and school authorities to tackle the problem and some of them are starting to show some promise. Anti Bullying laws are being implemented in schools and the “by-standers” of bullying are being punished as well.

Students are forming groups to speak out on bullying. As one 15 year old put it “We’re trying to make bullying become something that is uncool”.

Parents in general must educate their children on the negative effects of bullying and should ensure that their child is not harassing others at school.

Finally, bullying must not be taken lightly and must instead be dealt with as fast as possible to prevent it aggravating further.