Bullying

Bullying should never be tolerated, but children can learn strategies to deal with bullies.

Seeking support is always a positive thing to do.

Confidence, self-esteem, body language and humour can all deter bullies.

When young people talk about their experiences with bullying they are not talking about the give and take of normal social situations. Many young people are bullied as they are perceived to be ‘different’. This can effect emotional wellbeing and thus interfere with the rest of their life:

Making them afraid
Unable to learn
Disturbed sleep or eating patterns
Causing isolation, low self-esteem, depression

Young people may use excuses to miss or skip school.

More and more frequently young people are bullied on-line.

Tips

Listen to your young person.
Reassure them that you will help them deal with the issue.
When possible, work with the school for a successful outcome.
Keep a written note of the incidents, with culprits, times and witnesses if possible.
Build your child's self-esteem by concentrating on positive things: ‘What was the nicest thing that happened in school today?’. Focus on the positives.
Encourage sports, art, music, after school classes to make new friends and prevent isolation.
Always seek advice from your young person’s guidance teacher.

Tools and Techniques

Strategies:

Always seek advice form a trusted adult/guidance teacher.

Cyber bullying:

Cyber bullying can invade the home.
Monitor your young person’s on-line accounts, be open as to the reasons why. You are supporting them.
If your young person does get a bullying message online – do not reply. Keep the message as evidence.
Contact the police if necessary.

Bullying at school:

Your listening, understanding and supporting are important for your young person.
Don’t jump to conclusions – speak to the school to get the facts.
Don’t confront the bully or their families, this often leads to more problems that you think it will solve.
Solutions can take time, be patient.

Who can help

School – guidance teachers cover bullying in PSE classes and are well placed to give advice and support and also to sort out any issues. If an issue is very serious, advice might be to contact the police.

Aberlour Family Outreach, Dundee, 01382 313500
Children First, 01382 349910, www.children1st.org.uk
Relationship Scotland – Family Mediation, 01382 201343, www.familymediationonline.co.uk/contact.php
Parent to Parent, 01382 817558, www.parent-to-parent.org/index.html
Bullying UK Helpline, 0808 800 2222

This information can be downloaded as a pdf booklet from this link.