Once again, this Friday, some thoughts on combating bullying. As per the last few posts, the ideas here come from the book No Kidding About Bullying by Naomi Drew. One of the greatest problems regarding bullying is that there is almost always a silent majority who are doing nothing about the bullying. Experts break down the bullying problem into three groups, Bullies, Bullied, and Bystanders. If the Bystanders would work together to combat the work of the Bully, the problem would be lessened. Just like a mob-mentality quickly grows in a negative sense, an empathetic mentality can also grow when given the tools and awareness of the need.
Here are a few things you suggest to your child as the Bystander
Choose not to join in when other kids are laughing or bullying.
Speak out against unkind words or actions
Say something helpful to the person being picked on
Ask someone who is doing the unkind actions how they would feel if they were being picked on
Ask a person being left out or picked on to join you in an activity
Let an adult know what is going on
And there are likely more. Can you think of other suggestions to give to kids to help them combat bullying?
4 comments:
Personally I think bullies are cowards, and insecure people albiet child or adult. It is horrible for the one being bullied and can lead to enormous problems in their lives, I know my grandson is being bullied because for his age he is not very tall, but he is not one to retaliate as he has a heart of gold and don't like to hurt people. The school is aware of the situation but as yet nothing has been done.
Yvonne.
I can recall as a child siding with a bullied kid or outcast. I usually felt like I could identify with them and many times I would end up with a new friend.
Lee
The Dog Lived (and So Did I)
Wrote By Rote
An A to Z Co-host blog
Yvonne: I think giving your grandson some tools to deal with the situation is very important. I also think that if nothing is being done at school yet, the alarm should be sounded again.
Arlee: That's the example our kids need to see from adults and from their peers. All it takes for evil to win is for good people to do nothing.
It seems this is a growing problem for our kids. You've made some helpful suggestions.
Post a Comment