Bullying

What you should do -

If your children complain about bullying, take their concerns seriously.

Verbal harrassment, physical assault, and emotional manipulation are all forms of this growing problem. Some schools do a better job of addressing it than others.

Here are five tips to help your children deal with this problem in school:

1. Report the problem to the principal. Make the school administration aware.

2. Request that the principal schedule a conference with both sets of parents. Parents seldom know that their children are intimidating other children.

3. Document each incident. If the principal doesn't address it, you want a record of your concerns to share with central office administrators.

4. Discuss the problem with the school's Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) representatives. Convince them to insist that the school address the problem.

5. Befriend the other child. Kids intimidate other children for a variety of reasons. Often it's their way of being accepted. Including them in one of your family activities may difuse the problem.

6. And in some cases, as long as the problem doesn't get physical, try to ignore it. Many bullies are looking for a reaction. If they don't get a reaction, they stop.

These tips and others will help your children overcome this growing problem.

Return from Bullying to Study Skills Tips.