The new school year is an opportunity for parents and teachers to put fresh emphasis on bullying prevention by supporting the development of healthy social groups and friendships.
Here are some daily tips for getting the school year off to a good start. These “press the reset button” ground rules also work well at the start of a new semester or outside school hours – for after-school teams or group activities. They work at home, too – anytime you want to clear the air and start fresh.
We’ll post a new tip each day, adding to our bullying prevention “toolkit”. Check back daily!
Click here for all Bullying Prevention Tips.
20 Tips For Bully-Free Schools – Tip #12
Teach Better Conflict Skills.
Be sure to teach kids how to have disagreements with self-control: stick to the current issue, no name-calling, yelling, or threats, try to find a solution agreeable to both parties, learn how to give and accept an apology, take responsibility for your mistakes, work to change, and learn to release a grudge and move forward. Keep the conflict small – between the original parties. Don’t let it ripple out in a wave of gossip, bad-mouthing, and side-taking. All that needs to be said is: “I’m having a conflict with Chandra right now. We’re trying to work it through.”
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