by Leon Li

Created on: October 06, 2009   Last Updated: October 10, 2009

No one wants their child to be bullied. It happens everywhere, all the time. Sometimes, it will get worse and worse, until your child will come home with bruises and scrapes, and will be rather reluctant to tell you where they got them.

Physical violence at school is often a big problem for kids. Most teens and preteens will be either devastated or overwhelmingly frustrated with their lack of power to stop being pushed and shoved around. It often happens to the most unpopular kid; the child who looks like a dork, would talk back to teachers, is stubborn and sensitive.

While it's frustrating to deal with being pushed around, there are often just a few steps you can take to prevent or stop it.

Teach your child to control themselves. Most often the kid who is picked on the most is the one who is oversensitive and stubborn. It makes them a good target for bullies, and sometimes will result in fights where your child becomes the guilty party, which is not what you want your child to go through. For example, if your child acts "cool", and just shrugs it off or laugh it away when someone's physically harassing them, then the culprit will eventually realize that it's not working. This should really halt any physical bullying the first time.

Meanwhile, you should have your child take responsibility for it. If bullying or harassment really becomes a problem for your child, then he or she should know when to report it. If your child is being harmlessly harassed, he or she will quickly become the most unpopular kid in the class if they scream out to the teacher that so and so is bothering them. However, if they're being kicked by a certain person while they're in the halls very frequently, they should go to a teacher or principal (telling a principal will often get the best results) and inform them in a serious tone.

If there's no improvement after that, your child should know to inform the teacher about the same problem, but add that they will get their parents (you) to deal with it personally, by either settling it with the bully's parents through the school or publicing criticizing the school. These threats are reasonable, and they will get you good results. Note that this will not work if your child already has a reputation for being sensitive and stubborn, as the bullies will just return to haunt your child after a week. So focus on your child's self-control first.

A surprisingly good idea is to send your child to karate. Of course it's never good to fight back, but

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>