How a parent reacts when a child says they’re being bullied can make a big difference.
FOX’s Lisa Brady has part two of National Bullying Prevention Month in this week’s Fox on Family:
What should you say, if your child tells you they’re being bullied:
(Hertzog): “They may not use the word bullying, but maybe they say hey somebody’s really bothering me at school. And I think our gut instinct as parents is to say, just ignore it.”
But Julie Hertzog, head of the bullying prevention center at non-profit Pacer, says it takes a lot of courage for kids to speak up; many aren’t telling their parents. So she recommends thanking them and letting them talk:
(Hertzog): “Giving that support to your child and saying I’m so glad that you’re telling me about this-stress that, and that way you’re encouraging the conversation around it.”
Then, have them help you come up with options; what they want to change and who to talk to, to help make it happen:
(Hertzog): “For kids it’s not always even about fixing it right away. It’s about giving them some of that power back that they’ve lost by being bullied.”
Restoring some confidence and self-esteem, and reaffirming they’re being taken seriously, with an action plan that also helps if it happens again.
There’s much more at pacer-dot-org/bullying.
With Fox on Family, I’m Lisa Brady.
PACER is a nonprofit center that helps families of children with disabilities from birth through age 21. The group’s National Bullying Prevention Center started a prevention week in 2006 and it was expanded to bullying prevention month in 2010. Much more information about bullying awareness and prevention is available at pacer.org/bullying, including interactive resources, information for children and teens and an online module for parents. That includes conversations to have from a young age, how to help and protect your child and an outline of laws in each state designed to help protect children.
