Dealing With Bullies

Our job as parents is to keep our kids safe. Always encourage your son to tell you if he is being bullied and how it makes him feel. Remind him that it is not his fault. Suggest that he stay away from those kids and persuade him not to threaten back. You need to encourage him to be the "better person." Have him tell the kids who are bullying him that he doesn't like it and that they should stop! He could just say "Quit it, David" and then walk away. Remind him that bullies like to upset people, so if he can keep his cool and react with a calm voice rather than an angry voice, the bully will not get the desired response. If your son doesn't feel comfortable saying that to the bully by himself, he could ask someone to be there when he does speak face to face with the bully. The bully might be more open to listening than to bullying when another person is present. Also, if your son doesn't feel comfortable with what you are suggesting, encourage him to just walk away but to still tell you about it. You can discreetly go and have a word with the bully's parents and see if they can do something about their child's bullying ways.

Also, try to get your "loner" child involved in some group activities, like a sport, whereby he can meet kids with similar interests and hopefully make some new friends who are too busy enjoying what they are doing to be bullies.

Get more child behavior tips from the Nanny 911 Nannies!