Blog Post 4: How To Deal With Bullying

Is there a time when you see someone being bullied and you're in the dilemma if you want to help them or not? 

I have this experience way back when i was in high school and I saw a small boy being bullied by the tall boys in the corner. They were teasing him, calling him names like, "bansot" and telling him to go back to elementary because of his height. I know I wanted to do something to stop them but I can't. I didn't know what to do.

So here some of the tips that can help you deal with bullying.

According to http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood written by By Mary Drecktrah, Ph.D., and Lisa Blaskowski, first thing is to be know about the extent of the problem.

"The authors surveyed two small mid-west elementary schools and a middle school and found that the staff’s perception of bullying was much different from the students’ perception of bullying. At the elementary level, the staff (principals, counselors, secretaries, teachers, etc.) estimated that 7.1 percent of students were bullied compared to 69.6 percent of the elementary students who reported they had been bullied. The definition on both surveys (staff and students) defines bullying as “when another student or group of students is mean to you several times (weeks or months). It can be verbal (name calling, gossiping, ignoring, threats) or physical (hitting, kicking, etc.).” At the middle school level, the staff estimated 8 percent of students had been bullied while 65.7 percent of students reported they had been bullied. This suggests that the staff does not recognize the extent of the bullying problem that students in their school face."

In this quote article even the school administration didn't know what the real deal is.If you are one of the who saw an a child or a person being bullied you can try to help them by suggesting something else to divert the attention away from the situation so you wouldn't end up getting hurt yourself.

Second part is the parents, as a child's first teacher, they must be aware on their actions because the children will imitate what they see. If a child was raised in a abusive family, the child will see that violence is a way to solve a problem.

"With small children, parents need to nurture three important skills: l) empathy, how to understand how someone else feels; 2) control, how to express strong negative feelings like anger and fear; and 3) problem-solving, how to think of consequences and not act impulsively. Make sure your children are supervised so they receive the guidance they need. Know their friends and encourage supervised programs and recreation run by adults you respect. Accompany your children and watch how they get along with others. Teach your child how to respond appropriately when others use insults or threats to deal with anger by hitting. Encourage them to avoid children who behave that way."

Third is be open to them. The best and efficient way to deal with this situation is to be open to them. Talk to the victims, ask them how they feel and appreciate them. Tell the victims that they have the confidence and power to walk away from any situation. Making safe choices like stepping out of a line or changing seats is sometimes all that is needed to make a bullying problem stop. 

Let the child talk once them open up to you, help the victim to problem-solve.