Do Not Let Your Child be a Bully

Children pick up habits as they grow either from what they see at home, or what they see around them elsewhere. In these days of Internet and so much television viewing, kids could easily pick up the wrong habits. One of such habit is the act of bullying. Bullying could take various forms be it verbal, physical and psychological. Recognizing and teaching our kids the ill effects of bullying will make them develop as better persons instead of becoming sociopaths that will be the dread of his peers. Here are some tips to prevent your child from being a bully.

• Understand the source of your kid’s bullying habit; while it may have been an acquired habit from influence around him, it could be something deeper. Find out if his bullying is a way of expressing anger, frustration or insecurity. Tackle the root cause
• State the rules on non bullying either in the house or elsewhere
• Teach tolerance of others differences, be it religion, race, gender, economic status etc.
• Punish acts of bullying with age appropriate punishment; make sure that your child understands why he is being punished
• Teach other non violent methods of acting
• Encourage your child to communicate verbally instead of through actions
• Promote the act of good behaviour and shower praises for those moments
• Enlist the help of teachers to monitor and instruct the child properly
• Above all, set good example. If you bully your spouse or your kids, the tendency is that your children will see bullying as being normal