One of the hardest things as a parent is sending your child off to school. We hope that our child’s experience in school is a positive one. The last thing that we want to hear when our child comes home is that he or she has been bullied by his peer.
So what can we do as parents to help our child cope and identify a bullying?
- Bullies are created not born
- Bullies are fragile human beings trying to empower themselves through intimidation hoping you will believe them
- How to stop a bully. . . confront him and tell them
- Bully behavior represents chaos in the home
- Your bully behavior tells me you are in some form of pain
- Your bully behavior is a direct reflection of how you see yourself
- It takes more courage not to be a bully
It is that time of the year when summer wind down and where kids and their parents separate from their offspring to enter the world of primary and secondary education. Symbolically, this transition period from dependent toddler to independent grade school or high school student is usually considered a wonderful experience. But, then again that depends on how healthy the attachment level is between the child and the parent. Is it the parent who has an emotional breakdown? Or, is it the child who clings to the leg of the parent wondering why s/he is being thrown out into the big bad cruel world? Wondering to his/herself, “What have I done to deserve this treatment?” No matter, the aforementioned situation of going back to school can be this wonderful memory of the child going on to their next phase of life or it can be considered a perpetual nightmare of uncertainty, strangers, and a bully or two.
So let us take a look at the bright side of the new school year. Let it be known that in this situation school is a place to learn, explore, experience all types of subjects, letters, numbers, the opposite sex, make new friends and reacquaint yourself with your old friends. Your parents constant years of preparation made you believe attending school this wonderful experience. They reminded you of the importance of school and how school will offer options in the job market later down the road even though the child may not quite understand the repercussions. The student is informed that school is not a place of punishment but a place to expand their view of the world from the alphabet to “Frozen” to “The Minunions” to “Super Heros.” Therefore, the child’s opinion or perception of attending school is a good thing. Because the parent made good on their child’s social/emotional development regarding attachment during this 6-8 hour daily separation knowing they will be able to return to the nest and describe to their parents the daily events of their educational process.
On the darkside of the new school year is another story. This is the side that were separating from the parents is full of anxiety and attending school is not emphasised. Leaving home and attending school is more about survival then the art of learning. Meaning, there are the children who leave for school knowing what awaits them upon their return from school is a home full of chaos and dysfunction.
This is your chance to make bullying prevention heard around the world!
Try this easy steps to make someone happy. Be kind to others. #ThinktobeHappy
- Don’t let anyone at school eat alone in the cafeteria or on a school field trip. Make it the week of #NOONEEATSALONE
- Include other students in school activities
- Include other students in after school activities
- Invite someone you don’t now that well to sit next to you on the bus. Learn about each other.
- At one point or another each of us has felt insecure, or stressed out, or alone. It is important to remind our friends and classmates that we are all in it together and we are there to listen and support each other. Use the hashtag #HereForYou on social media to let your classmates know that they have your support and a person to reach out to if they ever need to talk.
