The ABCs of Bullying
Addressing, Blocking, and Curbing School Aggression
Module 6: Prevention and Intervention - Page 11 of 16
For the Child Who Bullies
Parents of children who bully must work closely with the school to resolve the situation. Although it is difficult for most parents to hear something negative about their child's behavior, it is very important in a bullying situation for the parents to act immediately.
Children who are aggressive toward their peers are at high risk for other anti-social behaviors such as criminality and misuse of alcohol.
Parents need to remember that, as noted earlier, children who are aggressive towards their peers are at high risk for other anti-social behaviors such as criminality and misuse of alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs.ref
Steps parents can take include:ref, ref
- Find out in detail why your child is bullying.
- Listen. It is hard to listen to criticism of your child, but remember, the well-being of your child is at stake.
- Spend more quality time getting to know who your child's friends are and what he or she does with them. Children need to feel their parents listen to them.
- Do not blame others for your child's behavior.
- Point out that bullying behavior is not acceptable in the family.
- Try to model appropriate methods for handling issues of power or the inequality of power.
- Specify the consequences if the bullying persists.
- Teach and role-play appropriate behavior.
- Follow up with the teacher and administration and track improvements.
- Try to channel the aggressive behavior toward something positive like sports, where teammates need to play by the rules. Explore other talents the child may have and help him or her develop them.
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Last Updated: 5/19/04
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