Bullies

With all the talk in the news lately about bullies, it has brought this right of passage for many children to light. Bullies are not a new thing many of us have memories of our own childhoods with bullies. It does seem nowadays that we are seeing bullies show their true colors at an early age. As parents/guardians we want to protect our little ones but we can not be there all the time, so how do we prepare our little ones to deal with bullies.

* Tell your child to avoid the bully as much as possible. Stay away from him/her on the playground.

* Have your child practice standing and walking with confidence. Bullies usually pick on people who are smaller and physically weaker than they are, or who they feel will not retaliate

* Don't let a bully make your child feel bad. Teach your child that when someone says something bad about you, say something positive to yourself.

* Don't reward the bully with tears. The bully wants to hurt your feelings, so act like his name-calling and taunts don't hurt.

* Teach your child to use humor when dealing with bully. Laugh at his threats and walk away from him.

* Most importantly make sure your child is comfortable keeping the lines of communication open with you.