NCJ Number
219962
Date Published
2000
Length
100 pages
Annotation
This booklet guides parents in helping their children develop an effective personalized strategy for reducing the chances that they will become targets for bullying.
Abstract
Part I contains three chapters that characterize the bully/victim problem. A chapter on the nature of bullying addresses the characteristics of a child that tend to make him/her a target for bullying, as well the characteristics of bullies that cause them to seek out vulnerable children to abuse. Other chapters in Part I address how boys bully and how girls bully, along with the distinction between normal age-related conflict and bullying. Part II, the main body of this guide, contains nine chapters on how to prevent and solve bully/victim problems. Parents are instructed in how to assess a child's risk for being targeted by a bully, how to reduce a child's vulnerability to bullying, and ways to help a child develop and apply skills that can protect against bullying. Among the strategies recommended for children in dealing with bullying are asking for help, standing up to bullies, using humor to diffuse conflict, walking way, and applying skills in conflict resolution that can continue throughout life. Other issues addressed include the elimination of the sense of helplessness that bullying creates, the promotion of healing from the effects of bullying by supporting a child's processing of fear and trauma, and equipping a child with problem-solving and social skills. Parents are also guided in helping to provide a community and school climate that can reduce the incidence and effects of bullying by creating a more caring community, school, and recreational programs.