Managing Bullying in School

As a parent, if my child were constantly bullied in school, I would be highly concerned about it. One, bullied children develop depression as they feel bad for being looked down upon by their mates. No one wants to be undermined, and all children need to be loved and have a smooth time in school. Bullying takes this innocence away, as a bullied child is perceived as the weak-link and thus can be bullied by anyone. While bullying might not be physical, verbal bullying leads to an emotional breakdown, and this has a long-lasting effect on the child (Muthevhuli & Obadire, 2021). Based on this, I would be overly concerned about my child being bullied.

Resolving bullying cases can be one of the most challenging issues in school. Children are often afraid of reporting bullies to the authority or parents, which can be attributed to the fear that the bullying will intensify (Smokowski & Evans, 2019). Besides, many victims of bullying perceive that they are bullied because it was their fault and that if they looked or acted differently, it wouldn’t be happening. Also, children are afraid of reporting to their parents because they are worried that their parents won’t believe them or do anything about it, while others worry that their parents will urge them to fight back when they are scared. If I found out that my child was being bullied, I would take two major steps: reporting the case to school, but with an anonymous caution to the administration to avoid bullying from getting worse. I would ask the school administration to investigate the matter and deal with it accordingly, as bullying is prohibited in school. Other than reporting, I would speak with my child and let them know that they are not alone. I would ask them to hold their anger as it won’t help to bully back. Besides, I would encourage them to act brave, walk away, and ignore the bully. Acting uninterested or ignoring the bully, whether face-to-face or on the internet, shows that you don’t care, and they will probably get bored with trying to bother the child (Briggs, 2018). 

References

Briggs, F. (2018). Smart parenting for safer kids: Helping children to make smart choices and stay safe. Woodslane Press.

Muthevhuli, B. J., & Obadire, O. S. (2021). Exploring the Effects of Bullying on Primary School Pupils in South Africa. Afr. J. Dev. Stud, 11, 209-228.

Smokowski, P. R., & Evans, C. B. (2019). Bullying and victimization across the lifespan. Springer International Publishing.