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Bullying is an emergency that requires urgent action. Kidpower International provides immediate solutions that parents, teachers, and other adults can use to help protect kids.
Stop bullying with the same determination that you would stop someone from throwing a rock through a window!
An independent study from the Cyberbullying Research Center estimates that 5.4 million students skip school in the US at some point in the year due to bullying. The news is filled with stories about bullied kids who become suicidal, violent, or sick. We know that bullying is an emergency. Emergencies require urgent action.
As part of National Bullying Prevention Month this October, we are reaching out with three important steps that adults can use right away to help children safely cope with bullying.
The people caring for kids are doing the most important job in the world. While children and teens can learn skills to help prevent and stop bullying, staying in charge of safety is an adult responsibility, and bullying is a safety issue. Every adult in a child’s life is responsible for ensuring that the child is protected from harm and taught how to act safely and respectfully towards others.
Here are three critical tips that parents, teachers, and other responsible adults can take right away to help stop bullying:
- 1. Make sure kids know you care. Don’t assume they know. No matter how busy you are, tell young people that if anything bothers them, they can come and tell you. Stop unsafe or disrespectful behavior with the same commitment you would stop a child from throwing stones.
- 2. Be compassionate. Listen, rather than telling kids not to be upset or giving a lecture. Take charge of your own feelings so that you act calmly to find solutions instead of overreacting.
- 3. Keep your radar on. Stay aware of what kids are saying and doing. The best anti-bullying programs in the world won’t work if the adults in charge aren’t aware of what’s going on or don’t provide a good role model by acting safely and respectfully themselves.
To provide additional resources, we have updated our most popular article, Face Bullying With Confidence: 8 Kidpower Skills We Can Use Right Away with graphics and a slide show about how to teach these skills.
Published: October 12, 2017 | Last Updated: October 12, 2017
Irene van der Zande, Kidpower Founder and Executive Director
Kidpower Founder and Executive Irene van der Zande is a master at teaching safety through stories and practices and at inspiring others to do the same. Her child protection and personal safety expertise has been featured by USA Today, CNN, Today Moms, the LA Times, and The Wall Street Journal. Publications include: cartoon-illustrated Kidpower Safety Comics and Kidpower Teaching Books curriculum; Bullying: What Adults Need to Know and Do to Keep Kids Safe; the Relationship Safety Skills Handbook for Teens and Adults; Earliest Teachable Moment: Personal Safety for Babies, Toddlers, and Preschoolers; The Kidpower Book for Caring Adults: Personal Safety, Self-Protection, Confidence, and Advocacy for Young People, and the Amazon Best Seller Doing Right by Our Kids: Protecting Child Safety at All Levels.
