Dealing with a Bully

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The topic of bullies and bullying is certainly not new. It does seem to have grown to epidemic proportions over the last number of years. I’m amazed at the number of times I see stories about bullying in the media and hear about bullying from friends and clients.
Bullies are not just kids. Bullies grow up to be adults who continue bullying. However, kids seemed to be the most negatively impacted by the terrorizing tactics of bullies. Kids don’t have the life skills, the tools, to overcome the hurtful and antisocial behavior of bullies. I was really interested to find Spry Living.com/kids that gives strategies on dealing with a bully. It also gives other tips. You might want to check it out.
Briefly, the Spry Living strategies include:
1) Asking a question can throw a bully off track.
2) Though it’s really tough try going along with the insult to stop, or at least slow down, the attack.
3) Try humor. Parents can help kids come up with possible things to say that add humor to the situation. Again, this can stop or slow down the bully’s attack.
4) Even if humor doesn’t fit the bill, brainstorming with your child and practicing responses that are to the point and given with confidence in a strong voice can impact a bully’s behavior. (Bullies are generally insecure individuals with low self esteem who need to make themselves feel better by making others feel bad.)
5) Ask for help from adults! Don’t ask just once and give up. Ask each time a bully behaves unacceptably until the harassment stops.
It’s important to keep in mind that bullies are insecure individuals with low self esteem who need to make themselves feel better by making others feel bad. It probably doesn’t feel that way to one who is being bullied but it’s true.