Good Parenting

Absolutely, the best way to stop bullying in schools is for all parents to change the way they parent their children at home. Of course, this is much easier said than done and everyone parents their children differently. Bullies, however come from homes where physical punishment is often used and children have been taught that physical violence is the way to handle problems and “get their way.” In addition, bullies usually come from homes where some type of violence has been modeled for them. With that said, how can we “fix” the bullying problem at our schools. Early intervention and effective discipline/boundaries is truly the best way to stop bullying.

What can be done about bullying at the school level:

1.) Most school programs that address bullying use a multi-faceted approach to the problem and this usually involves counseling of some sort either by peers, a school counselor, teachers, or the principal.

2.) A good place to start is to hand out questionnaires to all of the students and teachers discussing if bullying is occurring at their school. Also, what constitutes bullying in the school environment should be defined. A questionnaire is a wonderful tool that allows schools to see exactly the extent of bullying occurring and what types of bullying are most prevalent. It serves a good benchmark of where to start to address the problem.

3.) Get the children’s parents involved in a bullying program. If parents of the bullies and the victims are not aware of what is going on at school, then the entire bullying program will be ineffective. Stopping bullying in school takes a team effort on everyone’s parts. Bullying should also be discussed during parent-teacher conferences as well as PTA meetings. Parental awareness is the key.

4.) In the classroom setting, all teachers should work with the students on bullying. Often times even the teacher is being bullied in the classroom and a program should be set up that implements teaching about bullying. Children understand modeling behaviors and role-play and acting out bullying situations is a very effective tool that can be used. Have students “act” out a bullying situation. Also, rules that involve bullying behaviors should be clearly posted. Schools could also utilize the services of mental health professionals in their area to come in and speak to the students about bullying behaviors and how it directly affects the victims.

5.) Lastly, schools need to look at where in the school bullying is usually occurring from the questionnaire that students/teachers filled out. Look at the school environment and make sure there is enough adult supervision at school in order to lessen and prevent childhood bullying at school.

A child that has to endure bullying behaviors usually suffers from low self-esteem and their ability to learn and be successful at school is dramatically lessened. By implementing a good anti-bullying program, schools will be able to see a drastic reduction of bullying in their schools. For parents, education of bullying behaviors as well as talking to their children about bullying will help all children have a better school environment and allow children to feel safe and secure at school. Children that are bullies need to be taught empathy for others’ feelings in order to change their behaviors and a zero tolerance policy for bullying needs to be the “attitude” of everyone at the school.