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It is difficult to know the best way to respond when parents hear that their kids are being bullied at school. At times parents believe that their own child is to blame if he or she is at the receiving end of jabs at school. They think it is better that that their kids toughen themselves up psychologically so that they can combat these jabs. How can parents prevent bullying? Some parents make their children face the emotional pain when they are at home. When children are allowed to feel emotional pain while we are available as parents to support and teach them, they become more resilient. But does this really work for all kids?
Every so often, we get swept away with parental love and endeavor to shield our child from emotional pain. It might seem very surprising to read that sometimes we ought to let our kids feel the emotional pain when they are at home. Rather than letting your child face the bullying at school, it is better that you allow them to face some emotional pain while you are there to support them and teach. As a result they will become more resilient and tough for the challenges they are going to face in their academic life and later on.
Carrie Goldman, the author of the book Bullied suggests that instead of giving bully victims the title of ‘weaklings’ who don’t know how to defend themselves, we can rely on other ways to protect our kids from psychological damage if/when they are bullied. Instead of subjecting them to psychological pain at home as well as school, teach them how to see from the perspective of the kids who act as bullies.
It is important that we empower our child against bullying that they face at school but it is also crucial that we teach them empathy and tolerance towards the bullies. There are numerous factors that make a bully the way he is.
While educators and parents are busy preventing bullying in school, they do not notice the role of the bystanders who add fuel to the fury. The bystanders who click ‘Like’ on the cruel status updates on Facebook or retweet a vicious tweet are equally to blame for the bullying that has so quickly hijacked our society.