Know your child’s friends: research has shown that by simply knowing, and playing an active part in knowing, your child’s friends can lessen the incident of bullying.
Play on active part in your child’s life: Do homework together and take the time to talk with your child. Be active in their lives, and have them as your top priority. If your child feels that they are your priority they will be more likely open up to you when the need arises. Close, respectful and compassionate relationships with your children, will teach them to do the same and to respect others.
Allow your children to be an active friend: It is shown that Parents, who give their child, time to socialise with other children, have less chance that their children will bully or be targets of bullying. Children need to learn how to interact with their peers; they need to find their place in their own worlds.
Take time to listen to your child: Make a time when you can come together to talk about anything, without judgeme nt. Opening up this type of conversation will give your child a space to talk to you, to trust you and to confide in you about anything that is troubling them. Do not judge them, do not overreact just listen and devise plans together to overcome any issue. Ask them how they would like the issue resolved and be active in helping them achieve this goal.
Be Proactive NOT reactive when bullying is an issue: If your child is being bullied or tells you about another child being bullied then TAKE ACTION. Do not guess that the other family knows it is happening and is on-board stopping the bullying from happening. You need to take action – tell the school or speak to the parents.
If your child is being bullied then don’t assume that they will be able to deal with it themselves. Sometimes that is a very hard thing to do. You will need to TAKE ACTION. Speak to the school or the place in which the bullying is happening. From there you can possibly set up a meeting with parents to discuss the situation. Never take matters into your own hands – even when you are understandably furious – this will only make matters worse. Be proactive NOT reactive. These web sites contain some key information on what to do if your child is involved in bullying:
http://www.empoweringparents.com/My-Child-is-Being-Bullied.php
http://www.ncab.org.au/thingsbullied/
http://www.kidspot.com.au/familyhealth/Development-School-10-signs-your-child-is-being-bullied+3114+215+article.htm
If your child is being accused of bullying, don’t be defensive, listen to what is being said. You will need to sit down and have an open conversation with your child. Listen to what your child says, do not be overtly emotional and give them time to open up to you. These web sites contain information that may help you have this conversation:
http://raisingchildren.net.au/articles/bullying_-_your_child_bullying.html
http://www.kidspot.com.au/schoolzone/Bullying-When-your-child-is-the-bully-heres-what-to-do+4620+395+article.html
Be involved within the school environment: Volunteer at the canteen, become part of the social committee, join or create a parents group, be an active participant in sports, or volunteer in your child’s class when you can. We understand that many parents work and do not have the time to be involved actively in their children’s school but there are many ways you can still be there. Simply reading the school newsletter together would be a start. Be up to date with what is happening at your school and in your child’s class room.
Understand when you child is depressed or showing signs of stress: You need to act when you see changes in your child’s general demeanour, mood, energy levels, appetite, etc. For information about the signs of depression and stress and what to do go to http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetails.aspx?p=114&np=141&id=1920
Have an internet safety plan – Become Cyber Smart: Research everything you can about internet safety, cyber bullying and social media.
- Devise rules about internet do’s and don’ts.
- Teach your child about internet security.
- Install safety software.
DO NOT have computers in children’s bedrooms; position them in plain sight at all times, this way you can see what is happening online. Check your children’s search history and online conversation history, that way you can monitor more closely what they are seeing and doing online. The police Department have a great website dedicated to cyberbullying with practical tips on internet safety for your child and family. http://www.cybersmart.gov.au/
Research Bullying and avenues of bullying: Be equipped and know everything you can about bullying and what to do when the need arises. Have your school engage with a positive bullying program such as the Bull-eze Program. Research social media – know what they are all about and be on the ball when new media arises. We now have Facebook, Instagram, Myspace, Twitter and the list is getting bigger by the day. It will only help if you know what is out there and what your children are using.
Create a list of contacts for your child: Have a contact list on the fridge or somewhere that is accessible to your child. Include numbers of trusted people, police, lifeline, kids helpline etc. and allow your child to use those numbers when they need to without you being intrusive. If your child feels that they can’t talk to you about something (for whatever reason) then give them the numbers of people that they can talk to.
For smaller children use an outline of their hand and create a five person help list. They can have this up in their bedrooms. Some important numbers include:
Yorrala Programs 