Address Bullying Behavior Parents, school staff, and organizations all have a role to play. Make sure the child knows what the problem behavior is. Young people who bully must learn their behavior is wrong and harms others. Show kids that bullying is taken seriously. Calmly tell the child that bullying will not be tolerated. Model respectful behavior when addressing the problem. Work with the child to understand some of the reasons he or she bullied. For example: Sometimes children bully to fit in. These kids can benefit from participating in positive activities. Involvement in sports and clubs can enable them to take leadership roles and make friends without feeling the need to bully. Other times kids act out because something else—issues at home, abuse, stress—is going on in their lives. They also may have been bullied. These kids may be in need of additional support, such as mental health services. Use consequences to teach. Consequences that involve learning or building empathy can help prevent future bullying. School staff should remember to follow the guidelines in their student code of conduct and other policies in developing consequences and assigning discipline. For example, the child who bullied can: Lead a class discussion about how to be a good friend. Write a story about the effects of bullying or benefits of teamwork. Role-play a scenario or make a presentation about the importance of respecting others, the negative effects of gossip, or how to cooperate. Do a project about civil rights and bullying. Read a book about bullying. Make posters for the school about cyberbullying and being smart online. Involve the kid who bullied in making amends or repairing the situation. The goal is to help them see how their actions affect others. For example, the child can: Write a letter apologizing to the student who was bullied. Do a good deed for the person who was bullied or for others in your community. Clean up, repair, or pay for any property they damaged. Avoid strategies that don’t work or have negative consequences. Zero tolerance or “three strikes, you’re out” strategies don’t work. Suspending or expelling students who bully does not reduce bullying behavior. Students and teachers may be less likely to report and address bullying if suspension or expulsion is the consequence. Conflict resolution and peer mediation don’t work for bullying. Bullying is not a conflict between people of equal power who share equal blame. Facing those who have bullied may further upset kids who have been bullied. Group treatment for students who bully doesn’t work. Group members tend to reinforce bullying behavior in each other. Follow-up. After the bullying issue is resolved, continue finding ways to help the child who bullied to understand how what they do affects other people. For example, praise acts of kindness or talk about what it means to be a good friend. stopbullying.gov/respond/support-kids-involved/index.html
Posted on: Sun, 09 Mar 2014 02:35:29 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015