Ways to stop bullying

 

 

By: Autumn Hill

 

Children learn how to express emotions primarily through social interaction in their families and at school. So, families and schools must foster an environment that teaches children that nobody has the right to hurt another person. Kindness, acceptance, and appreciation for others must be taught and modeled in the early years. Witnessing positive examples of handling conflict and anger help children deal with those emotions on their own. For example, if they are ever confronted by a bully.

Bullies are everywhere, unfortunately. Sometimes they are hidden or out in the open, but they are everywhere. Many people don’t know how to react in situations with bullies. They’re unsure whether they should defend the person being bullied or not, maybe they are also scared of the bully or maybe they feel like they won’t be accepted by everyone else if defending the one being bullied. What would you do if you saw someone being bullied? Here are some ways to prevent bullies from bullying:

 

1.      Confront the Bully. According to stopbullying.gov, you should try talking it out. If you are being bullied or your friend is being bullied, then maybe talking will calm the bully down and help him or her realize that they don’t need to fight with the victim.

2.      Defend the victim. A friend being bullied needs someone beside them to help them work it out. Be cautious, however; the bully may try to gang up on you. Be calm, fighting back only makes them angry.

3.      Ignore the Bully. If you are being bullied by someone, then try ignoring the bully. Let him or her know that what she is doing isn’t bothering you.

4.      Stop and Think. Think about what you say to the bully. Just because they may be saying hurtful stuff doesn’t mean you should.

5.      Be kind. Some say that the best way to stop the bully in action is to smother them with kindness and show them that what they are doing isn’t bothering you.

6.      Talk to an adult. Sometimes you can get into situations where you will need help from an adult. The best way to go about bullying situations that you can’t stop yourself is to ask a parent or guardian, or perhaps just someone you trust, to help you.

7.      Don’t fight back. The bully may be threatening to fight with you. If this happens, you should never fight back. Ignoring the bully is a good way to avoid trouble with the bully.

8.      Have confidence. Community-matters.org says that loving yourself is crucial when it comes to overcoming bullying. Loving yourself will prevent you from being a bully and help you stand up for yourself if you feel you are being bullied. It will force you to remove yourself from negative situations in which you might be bullied. It will help you overcome and cope with any bullying you might have faced -- or will face.

9.      Don’t be the bully. Many bullies might not consider themselves bullies. But remember: every unkind word, every condescending statement is a form of bullying. And so is just standing by while others are bullied.

           

"Parents often feel helpless and don't know where to begin to help their child cope," says Dr. Meline Kevorkian. Bullies are everywhere and not everyone knows the right way to handle them. There are many ways to stop the bullying, but every situation is different. If you feel that you are being bullied, assess the situation and determine what action (or inaction) might work best for you.