My daughter was bullied, I struggled to figure out why. She was popular, smart, athletic etc but for some reason, one girl started a hate campaign and it snowballed from there

Unfortunmately schools are still not very good at supporting bullying victims.

This is great reading with some good information.

Wonderful advice and something that we need to not only be aware of but proactive with as forms of how it is delivered can change quickly with technology.

My young ones have all experienced bullying sometimes I get really upset and want to go and talk to the offender myself, but other times I have to remind myself and my daughter that usual the bully most likely is acting out due to there being something that is effecting them. Either at home or another area in their lives. I also ask that if it gets to much that they talk to us (the parents) or someone they trust enough to help them with the issue.

Great and practical article. We need to continue to build awareness and educate people on strategies to support all our children to be respectful.

My daughter is still in primary, but one of the local schools in our area is notorious for bullying. It’s so hard sometimes. While I understand some children test boundaries, others have it hard at home and repeat the behaviours at school. I try to be understanding but my daughter is a target as she is a ‘gentlr’ child with extra needs. We can get her all the help in the works, but some kids are just mean.

The issue is kids are on devices at an increasingly early age without knowing the consequences. Just like there was a pen license I think kids should complete a course to be able to use social media. Unfortunately most use it without prior knowledge and think its ok to be involved in group chats and cyberbullying which then in turn reflects in the school yard.
My kids havent bullied online thats because I believe they dont need it even if all of their friends have their own phones and their own Snap Chat and Instagram etc. I know Im the cruel mum but at least they are protected in that way. This is obviously not to say bullying wont happen tot hem ever.

It’s tough to go through from the child’s end and parents end. Definitely exhaust all options available such as keeping a record of notes and dates, emails/ written records with teachers or principal, having appointments with the school guidance officer or youth worker and speaking with them about having a strategy for how to deal with cyberbylling or other, role playing with your child at home and doing confidence and skill-boosting activities outside of school- such as martial arts self-defence classes for kids, youth programs, extra-curricular sports or any sort of safety classes. This will help your child to have an idea of what to do in different circumstances and yes they need to learn to stand-up for themselves, especially the gentle-natured ones as is with my child. It takes time and persistence to build-up these life skills and it can feel helpless in the meantime or in the moment, but know that you can make a difference. Keep them motivated to deal with it as much as possible, keep speaking and listening to them and let them know who they can go to for help around them if they need. It can get better! Even if you are more of a lover than a fighter, you can still find ways to stand-up to the bullies.

There is always a bully everywhere you go kids teens even adults experience this too as I did as a adult being bullied as a adult is not fun to say the least

Always ask your child to tell a teacher, and follow up with the school asking the teachers to keep an eye out for bullying.

I think it’s so important we role play with our children. This way they know exactly what to do as their emotions can overwhelm them. Instead of avoiding it all, we have to prepare them as bullies come in all ages!

This is something I’m super worried about with the kiddies growing up as I have also experienced bullying at school and the workplace. But the worst feeling would be knowing your kids are being bullied and there’s nothing you can do to help them at the time. The key thing is to identify the issue early on so it doesn’t progress to psychological problems

Bulling is such a big thing anywhere. Even in the workplace! It’s discusting!
Bullying in the school yard is so unacceptable! Schools should be doing more about it then they do. I’ve told my kids from day 1 you will get in trouble for standing up for yourself or even for a fellow class mate. But I will not tolerate bulling of any kind.

I believe this topic needs to be widely spoken About more often. Especially with the rates of suicide due to bullying within our country.
I want to teach my
Children to stand up for themselves and their classmates or anyone for that matter right from wrong.
To be honest, resilient, and be kind.
The way some schools approach this topic can hinder sometimes. And it definitely does start at home. I will be putting my children into defence classes to learn how to defend themselves appropriately if they come across bullying behaviours

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  • • Mumma93 replied
    • 28 Sep 2022 , 9:40 pm

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  100% ! We have said thw same thing, self defence lessons asap. Deffinlty needs to be spoken about more openly and more in general

Sadly I found out that my middle daughter who was only 6 at the time and a tiny little thing was being bullied by a boy who was 2 grades above her. He would push her over and tell her she was ugly. He was always tripping her up. We have no idea why he began this with her as they had zero interaction prior to his treating her this way. I contacted the school and they said they would deal with it. 2 weeks later I contacted them again as she was coming home with bruises and cut knees and hands. Again they said they would deal with it. I called a thrid time and this time I was very angry and asked that the child be removed from the school. They told me that they couldnt do that so I asked what they were going to do to make sure that my daughter was safe at school? I got words but still it kept happening. One day my girls came home from school and my eldest told me that she had found this boy in the school yard and grabbed him by the front of his shirt, shoved him up against a tree forcefully and told him that if he dared to touch, speak or even look at her sister again that she would punch his face in. He promised he wouldnt have anything to do with her again. I was in shock and told her that i didnt think that was something she should have done. The awesome thing though was that from that day on my daughter was left alone and we had no further problems.

I think this is a topic that should be discussed in school on a regular basis, in group assembly and in individual classes from prep to Grade 6 and in High School. I believe the less tolerant of this behaviour the school is the less it will occur. Schools need to express and explain to students the devastating consequence bullying can have on a person and tell everyone that it is not OK.

I work as a Secondary teacher. I do believe the way schools deal with it is also a HUGE factor in its continuation. I’ve seen fat too many teachers see and ignore and I’ve seen too many schools deal with bullying very lightly. The parents also need to be competent and proactive.

Bullies are there in every stage of life, sadly. We all have to prepare kids for this as it can be so tough. The main thing is that they open up when it is happening.

My daughter is only in kindergarten. She has such a shy nature in general, so worried about her starting school with bullies starting so young (from hearing stories from other mum friends ect) great advice in regards to role playing being a bit more assertive, definitely going to start doing this