Bullying – Prevention
The best way of preventing children from bullying each other is to help them develop skills that promote friendship, collaboration and caring for others. Two such skills – apologising and defending – are particularly relevant when bullying is occurring.
Apologising
An important skill we all need to learn is how to apologise when we have hurt the feelings of others. All conflicts begin with one person feeling hurt by something another person has said or done, and all conflicts tend to escalate or linger on if the parties involved don’t take appropriate action. Apologising is a rapid and effective way of resolving conflicts and restoring severed relationships.
Apologising – saying we’re sorry – is a social skill that children can learn with the help of parents or other caretakers. Smaller children can draw or write apologetic notes, and older children can write more extensive letters of apology. Children can also be encouraged to think about which words are best to use in an apology and what additional action or actions they should take to make things good again.
Apologies may not stop children from hurting people’s feelings, but they are an effective way of ending hurtful behaviour and avoiding any escalation into bullying. I have designed an app that helps children compose letters of apology. You can find it by opening the Steps of Responsibility -page at the Kids’ Skills website or simply clicking Here
The best way of preventing children from bullying each other is to help them develop skills that promote friendship, collaboration and caring for others. Two such skills – apologising and defending – are particularly relevant when bullying is occurring.
Defending
Surviving the many inevitable conflicts that arise in social relationships means we all need friends, allies or ‘buddies’ who are willing to defend us and take our side when necessary. Without this type of supporter we are vulnerable, easy prey for bullies and being taken advantage of.
One way of reducing bullying is to help children learn skills connected with supporting and defending others who feel intimidated by being bullied. The skill of defending others is one that children can develop and improve not only through roleplay but also in real life situations. As well as opportunities to post hurtful things about others, social media offers children opportunities to demonstrate support.
Synopsis
The best way of preventing bullying in any group of children is to help them learn social skills that promote friendship, collaboration and good companionship. These include the skill of apologising to others whose feelings have been hurt and the ability to defend children who are being bullied. Both these skills can be developed and improved using the Kids’Skills steps.
This article is owned by: Kids’Skills http://www.kidsskillsapp.com/
