Seeing your child experience the trauma of bullying is heartbreaking for any parent. We, as their caretakers, want to protect them from anything that can hurt them. Unfortunately, one out of five students report bullying, making it an issue everyone should take seriously. It is even worse today because bullying now happens online, resulting in non-stop anxiety and pain for bullied children.
You can take steps as a guardian or parent to stop the bullying. However, it is also important to boost child confidence against bullying. By taking action at home to bully-proof your child, they will learn healthy coping skills to protect them from further harm. Here are the key steps you can practice at home to help build confidence against bullies:
1. Listen to Your Child
The first step towards overcoming bullying is to listen. If your child has been expressing discomfort or showing signs that they are no longer interested in school or their favorite hobbies, talk to them. Encourage your child that you are there for them and will listen to their problems without judgment. It can also be helpful to keep a journal of events and instances as a way of supporting a bullied child who has opened up to you. These recordings can be shown to school staff as part of your plan for dealing with school bullies.
Listening to and hearing their frustrations without judgment gives your child a safe space to vent. Something as small as that can make a positive impact when empowering kids against bullying.
2. Reassure Them
After listening to your child and their worries regarding bullying, the next way to boost the child’s confidence against bullying is by reassuring them. A reassuring and supportive parent can make a lot of difference when supporting a bullied child. Let them know that opening up to you was the right thing and that you will be with them through every step.
The support of a parent or guardian during this stressful time for a child is important. It makes all the difference in the world knowing those you love are in your corner, taking your side.
3. Educate Them About Bullying
Children, especially in their early years, may not understand the concept of bullying. They only know that a classmate is hurting them, either verbally or physically, and they don’t know the reason behind it. As a parent learning how to help a child with bullying, it is up to you to teach them and make them understand their situation. It is a difficult topic to discuss, especially when you and your child are both emotional and hurt by the situation. Still, it is a necessary step toward overcoming bullying.
Let your child know that bullying is not their fault. By educating your child, you can encourage a sense of empathy while also boosting the child’s confidence against bullying.
4. Practice Different Confident Responses
Sadly, it is fairly common for schools not to take bullying seriously. If this has been an issue for you and your child, you can teach a child to stand up to bullies. One way of doing this is by practicing assertive communication with kids. Make a list of responses that are simple and direct but also non-confrontational. Responses such as “Back off” and “Leave me alone” are great examples of confidence without being aggressive.
Sometimes, responses as simple as “Whatever” and walking away can be enough. The key to dealing with bullies at school is to avoid aggravating them. Non-response responses are a good way of shutting down bullying without adding fuel to the fire.
5. Recreate “What-if” Scenarios at Home
Practicing confident responses can be difficult. Especially if the bullying has been recurring and your child’s self-esteem has been greatly affected. Self-esteem and bullying are tied together, and without your support, your child can feel alone and isolated. At home, it is a good suggestion to recreate different “what-if” scenarios to boost child confidence against bullying.
You can play the role of the bully and teach your child to stand up to bullies. Building their confidence is the best way to bully-proof your child. Once they learn how to respond to their bully with conviction, the bully may lose interest in their efforts to make your child feel small.
6. Praise Their Progress
Positive self-talk is an important skill for kids to develop over the years. Many bullied kids feel like there is something wrong with them, and it is their fault they are bullied. The best way to empower kids against bullying is to encourage their progress. When you praise their progress, you build their self-worth and self-esteem. This gives them more confidence to speak up, especially when learning more assertive communication for kids.
7. Talk Openly
Lastly, always keep the line of communication open between you and your child. The best way to boost child confidence against bullying is by instilling in the knowledge that they can always turn to you for support. A strong support system at home builds resistance, and bullying will not have such a major effect. Dealing with bullies at school starts at home and with you as your child’s caretaker and protector. While we can’t shield them from the world, we can give them the right tools and support system they need to overcome bullying.
Slow and Steady Process: Boost Child Confidence Against Bullying
The issues with bullying your child faces will not be resolved overnight. Chances are, their struggles when it comes to dealing with bullies at school also didn’t start overnight. As much as we would like to, there is no magic word to stop bullying at once. The best and only way to help your child is to build confidence against bullies so they can stand up for themselves. Once they learn how to be confident, the steps to bully-proof your child have begun.
Always be your child’s main support system. If you are there with them every step of the way when dealing with bullies at school, they will feel empowered to stand up for themselves.