If your child is accused of bullying others
It can be very hard to be told that your child might be bullying someone - most of us don't want to think that they would do something like that. It can feel like a personal attack, as if we are being told we are not a good parent, which can make us very defensive. Sometimes we might refuse to believe it at all. Whatever our immediate response we need to accept that, if our child has been accused of bullying, it needs to be looked into. All children can be horrible sometimes so we need to find out what is happening and why.
Children can bully for all sorts of reasons, for example:
- They are being bullied themselves
- They feel unimportant
- They want to be accepted by a particular group or gang
- They want to get their own way
- They don’t know it is wrong
- They are copying people they admire
- They are going through a difficult time and are acting out aggressive feelings.
If your child is accused of bullying:
- Talk to them calmly about it – try and find out what is going on
- If they are bullying, challenge them about it – they need to know that bullying is not acceptable
- Try and help them work out why they are bullying and how to make things better for them
- Help them to think about other ways of behaving where they will not feel like they are losing face
- Ask professionals for help – e.g. at school, at youth club etc. See our resource list for contacts
Bullying can lead to children being excluded from school . For more information about exclusions ring the Exclusions Officer on 01926 742517 or click on the links below. (Click 'back' on your browser to return to this page.)
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