Ways to prevent bullying

Parents, teachers, neighbors, and family members have an important role to play in preventing bullying. They can:

Help kids understand bullying.

Talk about what bullying is and how to stand up to it safely. Children who know what bullying is can better identify it. They can talk about bullying if it happens to them or others. Tell children that bullying is unacceptable. Make sure they know how and where to get help.

• Encourage children to speak to adults if they are bullied or see others being bullied.  Encourage the child to report bullying if it happens.
• Talk about how to stand up to children who bully. Give tips, like using humor and saying “stop” directly and confidently. Talk about what to do if those actions don’t work, like walking away.
• Talk about strategies for staying safe, such as staying near adults or groups of other children.
• Urge them to help children who are bullied by showing kindness or getting help.

Keep the lines of communication open.

Check in with your children often. Know their friends, ask about school, and understand their concerns. Research tells us that children really do look to parents and caregivers for advice and help on tough decisions. Sometimes spending 15 minutes a day talking can reassure children that they can talk to their parents if they have a problem.

Talking about bullying directly is an important step in understanding how the issue might be affecting children. Here are a few questions you can use to start the conversation about bullying:

• Have you ever felt scared to go to school because you were afraid of bullying? What ways have you tried to change it?
• Have you or your friends left other kids out on purpose? Do you think that was bullying? Why or why not?
• What do you usually do when you see bullying going on?
• Do you ever see kids at your school being bullied by other kids? How does it make you feel?
• Have you ever tried to help someone who is being bullied? What happened? What would you do if it happens again?

Encourage children to do what they love.

Help children take part in activities, interests, and hobbies they like. Activities like playing sports, singing in a chorus, or joining a youth group or school club give children a chance to have fun and meet others with the same interests. They help build confidence and friendships that help protect children from bullying.

Model how to treat others with kindness and respect.

Modeling how to treat others with kindness and respect goes a long way. Kids learn from adults’ actions. As adults, treating others with kindness and respect, show children that there is no place for bullying. Children take cues from the adults around them when it comes to how they treat and respect others.