Talking to Your Teen About Bullying
Bullying has become a very sensitive topic, especially after tragic shooting incidents in schools involving students who have had to endure bullying from other classmates. While it's only just recently that the spotlight has been pointed at the problem of bullying, the truth is that bullying has existed in the society even as far back as cavemen times. It's both concerning to have teens who are being bullied and teens who bully other children. These days, responsibly parenting teens also mean teaching them how to deal with bullying.
How exactly do you talk to your teen about it? It's important that you understand the issue first. What's important to know is that bullies are often victims too. They often do what they do because they crave for the experience of being in the position of power, probably something they do not experience at home or in their immediate social circle. Bullies seek out younger, weaker, less popular kids to intimidate and get this feeling of power. They use physical intimidation, spreading rumors, emotional attacks and similar acts to subjugate who they perceive to be weaker children.
When your child reaches the period of adolescence (sometimes even earlier), social acceptance begins to matter a lot. In some teens, this matters too much, leading them to put an inordinate amount of effort just to feel accepted by their peers. It also means that not being accepted, from their point of view, is a lot more difficult to deal with than it should be.
Your child's first line of defense is a healthy self-image. This is best achieved by forming a strong bond with them and hoping they realize their value as a person enough to not be a silent victim of bullying. The bonds that you form with your teen is an essential part of their life education and will hopefully teach them the value of forming healthy relationships with their peers. It will also give them an insight on different kinds of people and how to interact with them. Hopefully, this will also help your child become friends with more people, making them less likely targets of bullies.
It takes a lot of effort and good parenting to help a child become proactive and self-confident. Involved parenting is important whether your child is in danger of being bullied or is the one bullying other children. Teach your teen how to be strong enough to stick up to bullies and why it's important to get adults involved in the situation. Talk to your teen's school officials and teachers in order to spread the awareness against bullying.
Many teens have already suffered bullying in silence, and it's important as parents to teach teens not to accept this as the norm but rather as something that needs to be challenged and ultimately, changed. If your teen is having problems dealing with bullies or socializing with other teens, it may help to consider other alternatives than the aforementioned parenting tips.
It may be good to consider alternative school options (like wilderness programs or troubled teens programs), counseling, teen boot camps (in extreme cases) and similar interventions. Alternative high schools are particularly useful in helping nurture teens in a safe environment until they are emotionally stable for mainstream school or college.
How exactly do you talk to your teen about it? It's important that you understand the issue first. What's important to know is that bullies are often victims too. They often do what they do because they crave for the experience of being in the position of power, probably something they do not experience at home or in their immediate social circle. Bullies seek out younger, weaker, less popular kids to intimidate and get this feeling of power. They use physical intimidation, spreading rumors, emotional attacks and similar acts to subjugate who they perceive to be weaker children.
When your child reaches the period of adolescence (sometimes even earlier), social acceptance begins to matter a lot. In some teens, this matters too much, leading them to put an inordinate amount of effort just to feel accepted by their peers. It also means that not being accepted, from their point of view, is a lot more difficult to deal with than it should be.
Your child's first line of defense is a healthy self-image. This is best achieved by forming a strong bond with them and hoping they realize their value as a person enough to not be a silent victim of bullying. The bonds that you form with your teen is an essential part of their life education and will hopefully teach them the value of forming healthy relationships with their peers. It will also give them an insight on different kinds of people and how to interact with them. Hopefully, this will also help your child become friends with more people, making them less likely targets of bullies.
It takes a lot of effort and good parenting to help a child become proactive and self-confident. Involved parenting is important whether your child is in danger of being bullied or is the one bullying other children. Teach your teen how to be strong enough to stick up to bullies and why it's important to get adults involved in the situation. Talk to your teen's school officials and teachers in order to spread the awareness against bullying.
Many teens have already suffered bullying in silence, and it's important as parents to teach teens not to accept this as the norm but rather as something that needs to be challenged and ultimately, changed. If your teen is having problems dealing with bullies or socializing with other teens, it may help to consider other alternatives than the aforementioned parenting tips.
It may be good to consider alternative school options (like wilderness programs or troubled teens programs), counseling, teen boot camps (in extreme cases) and similar interventions. Alternative high schools are particularly useful in helping nurture teens in a safe environment until they are emotionally stable for mainstream school or college.
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