My babies have given me so much insight with their opinions as to why bullies are cruel. I think its important to know the why before you can properly improve the situation. I listed several possibilities on the chart.
Most of my anti-bully suggestions come from my teaching experience. Most of my students knew that I would give them a consequence if they tattled before trying to solve the situation. I think a few of these even apply to us dealing with bullies as an adult! A great reminder is to never obey a bully, it gives them fuel by empowering them.
You could (and probably should) have fake practice scenarios at home. For example, you approach your child while pretending to be the bully and said, “Give me your snack or I’ll punch you!” Allow you child to attempt and then offer several other ideas, such as looking them in the eye and stating, “I’m not going to give you my snack, but if you could work on your kindness, I’d be more than happy to share my snack with you. Even better, I could ask my mom to pack me an extra one for my new friend.”
If your child claims to be too shy, such as one of mine, please explain to them that this is one area they must learn to leave their comfort zone. Give them the alternative that if they don’t learn to stand up for themselves, this bully will continue to pursue them. Also, they will likely be a target for others bullies for the rest of their lives… even as a grown up.
Click here for a free printable. Please feel free to edit, but also share your wisdom with me so that I can add here for others. I’m hoping and praying these ideas will help your child stop the treatment they’re receiving.
My original purpose was to find ways to help our babies deal with bullies. However, when working on this post and studying about temperaments, I wonder how many people think that I’m a bully! Once I set my mind to “helping” someone, I won’t stop… even if they ask me to. I convince myself they just feel bad accepting service and insist that I don’t mind. Please let me know if that’s the case with you and I promise to work on improving. All that being said, I think a lot of bullies are misunderstood.
That being said, I think this devotion came in perfect timing.
“Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.” (NLT) -James 1:19
When we do all the talking, we communicate to others that we think our ideas are more significant than theirs. James helps us avoid this process. We should monitor our conversations and track how much we talk and listen. We want to show others that their viewpoints have value. http://www.jctrois.com/dailybibledevotion/
