9 Ways You Can Protect Your Child from Bullying

[lynn82md]

The unhappy fact is that teasing and bullying are a normal part of the rough and tumble struggle for social status. We are hardwired with the compulsion to compete for belonging and status in our social groups, and sometimes it goes too far

Comments

[meridian_rose]

It's not nine ways to protect your child it's nine ways to deal with a bullied child, not the same thing at all. It's not as bad as the 'don't act weird so you don't get bullied' articles we sometimes see, but it comes from the same place. The onus is on victims dealing with the inevitable rather than tackling the root causes of bullying. As in saying 'don't bully' rather than 'it's not so bad being bullied', teaching tolerance, and addressing social issues that contribute to an overly competitive and judgemental environment.

So I agree with you! More action like the father who took a stand :D

[luna_glass_wall]

Yeah, the "bullying is a fact of life" thing soured the article for me. Can you imagine if we took no preventative measures against anything else? "Dying in a car crash is a part of life. Here's a bunch of ideas on how to handle the funeral. Let's not mention wearing a seatbelt, not driving drunk, etc, etc."

Mind you, I'm not a starry-eyed idealist in this regard. I'm well aware that assholes crawl out of the woodwork like cockroaches. But I also do believe that people can be prevented from becoming bullies. I'm okay with articles that talk about how to deal with bullying because the reality of the situation, right now, is that bullies exists (I particularly liked the inclusion of talking about shame, which is the Great Unmentioned Emotion in all this). But there is just too much focus on the victim here. Too many pounds of cure, not enough ounces of prevention, you know?

[niliwen]

It's reactive as opposed to proactive.