How to Keep your Children Safe from Bullying

One of the reasons why many children miss school daily is they fear of being attacked or intimidated by other students particularly those older than them. Bullying has become a national problem deeply affecting families. Unfortunately, many adults hesitate to act when they hear or learn about bullying.

Adults should understand that bullying is not a common stage of childhood to be endured to toughen kids up. Any form of bullying can be very harmful to victims and the effects of it including anxiety, depression, family violence and criminal behavior can last into adulthood.

There are some actions you can take to keep your children safe from bullying. First of all, you should keep an encouraging home environment. Children learn by example. By modeling patience, tolerance, problem solving and communication, your children will follow you. Make your children understand that they cannot control the behavior of other people but they have the power to choose how to react to bullying. Teach him or her to respond appropriately.

Staying informed of the latest happenings of your child is also one of the actions that you can take. Asking questions to your child, school personnel and fellow parents allow you to know if your child is being bullied or vulnerable to bullying. At home, reduce the possibility of cyber bullying by limiting the number of hours they use on the internet, texting and social media.

Another action you can take is top creative positive social opportunities for your kids. Children with low self-esteem find it difficult to make friends and keep them. This can make them vulnerable to bullying. By creating adult-supervised and safe social opportunities for your children outside of their usual peer group, you can help in breaking this unhealthy cycle. Arrange play dates and allow your kids the chances to practice skills like sharing, listening, cooperating and taking turns.

Finally, learn the signs of bullying. It is important to learn how to recognize the signs of your child being victimized to bullying. Some of these signs include avoiding going to school, complaining stomachaches or headaches and having trouble sleeping. They also feel anxious, angry and irritable for no reasons. Other warming signs are fear of other kids, frequent loss of personal items, difficulty making friends and change in their dress style.