How to Stop Bullying at School

When our child is being bullied, sometimes our emotions takes over and we become overwhelmed. Our end goal is to protect our children and know they are safe.

Below are some tools you can use to stop or prevent bullying at school:

• It is imperative to keep accurate and up-to-date documentation throughout the process, until the bullying behavior ceases. This means write down things pertaining to when, where, who is committing the bullying behavior. Are there any witnesses to the bullying? Is so, what are their names and contact information? Who and when [date and time] did you talk to anyone pertaining to what was happening to your child. All of this documentation will be very important if there is a need to go up the chain of command in addressing this issue.
• If the bullying occurs at school or on the bus, the first person you should set up an appointment to talk with is your child’s teacher. This is where your documentation comes in handy. Have a copy of the important who, when, where type of information ready for the teacher because the more information the authority figures have at any step, the better equipped they are to help you problem solve. When you leave this meeting, there should be a clear plan of action and follow-up time to discuss if this plan is working.
• If this is not effective, the next step is to talk with the principal of the school. The parent, at this meeting will share their documentation of previous and current bullying behaviors and the plan which was in place. The results of this meeting is to make modifications to the plan of action or develop an entire new plan which will yield the results desired: stop the bullying behaviors! Again, a follow-up time should be established to gauge the effectiveness of the plan.
• If this doesn’t work, the next step will be to notify the Superintendent of your districts school board. It is in this meeting, a parent presents a clear, organized and concise picture of all previous efforts to resolve the bullying behaviors.
• The next level would be to contact the elected School Board Member from your district. These officials have a vested interest in helping keep the children in their school district safe.

Special note:

• Learn the policy and procedures which are in place regarding bullying for your particular school and district. This will be very important as you develops the plan of action to address these behaviors.
• I have talked with dozens of parents about this issue, so this next statement is important to remember: What we say and the details therein should never be overshadowed by how we say or share what is going on with our child with any official! It is easy to understand why a parent would be angry when your child is being hurt by the bully and their behaviors. You become less effective in expressing these concerns when raised voices and heated conversations slow communication efforts. The most important thing is to get the assistance you seek to stop the bullying now!

Every circumstance is different but with diligence and a calm head you can continue to protect your child’s mental and physical heath.