How To Deal With School Bullies

Most people have the misconception that bullying occurs only in schools and only among the lower age groups. This, it must be told, is not true as bullying can occur anywhere, right from schools, colleges to even the workplace. However, it is among students that bullying is such a serious problem. So, it is very necessary that both parents and children know how to deal with bullies. One may ask why bullying is such a cause of concern for it can be considered just a negative aspect of growing up. This is because the victim of bullying is scarred psychologically with the effects, in some cases, lasting a lifetime. There are increasing instances of bullying, where the victim has committed suicide or suffered from serious mental trauma. Thus, it becomes imperative to arm your children with the know-how on how they should react to bullies and bullying. 

Dealing With School Bullies

• First find out what type of the bully you are dealing with. Aggressive bullies are likely to abuse physically. Apart from this types, there are bullies who abuse only verbally by making jokes, teasing and calling names.
• After you have identified the nature of the bully, you should try in every way possible to avoid coming in contact with the bully. Don’t go anywhere near him/her and avoid going to any place where you are likely to meet the person. However, don’t make the person realize in any way that you are avoiding him/her. This will, backfire, making the person bully you all the more.
• If you get bullied the first time then don’t show any fear or hurt. Show as little reaction as possible and just walk off. Bullies need a sense of victory and if they don’t see any reaction from you then they will lose interest in you.
• It will also prove to be detrimental if you show them that they can hurt you. So, in case they make jokes on you or tease you, don't cry or show that you are hurt, as they will like this and will humiliate and ridicule you more.
• If you are verbally abused by a bully then it is better if you show a bit of confrontation by hurling an insult to the bully back. This will make the bully look silly in front of his or her peers. This is also a very effective way of giving the bully a taste of his/her own medicine. However, be careful not to confront if the bully is physically abusive. Physically aggressive bullies will always look for a reason to start a fight and they always look for confrontation.
• Don’t try talking sense into a bully. This is virtually impossible as it is very tough to talk sense to an irrational person. So, when bullied just walk away keeping your dignity.
• Try to avoid the companions of the bully too. The companions are more likely to be cowardly and will tend to bully you more than their leader.