Responding to a Bully
One of the best ways to relieve your child of their anxiety, is to provide them with options. So often, we find that bullying victims are under so much stress that they neglect to identify the most basic of response tactics. They feel helpless. Ironically, they have access to more power than the bully. The school’s rules, the objective morality and the overwhelming flavor of public opinion are against the bully. Given time, even the laws of social justice are against the bully, as his or her followers will inevitably diminish, and the power of intimidation will be lost. It’s important for bullying victims to acknowledge these circumstances, and to actively use these advantages in their defense. The bully will lose.
Some old stand-by tactics, such as avoidance, should be used sparingly, in favor of more active responses like: Involving Close Friends, Systematically Alerting Teachers who may witness the incidents, Building a List of Verbal Responses, Keeping Good Records, Exposing the Bully to Formal Consequences at School, and Learning Self Defense. Download Bullying Bootcamp for a list of realistic response options.
