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 #15
Stress Management Is A Key Supporting Skill To Successful Bullying Prevention.
When we live our lives at the very edge of our ability to handle our stress, it’s too easy to cross the line into being a bully, without meaning to or realizing it. Stress management is important for both adults and kids. Most adults have poorly controlled stress – we see the downsides daily. For kids, the stakes are even higher for several reasons: (1) Kids have less life experience and fewer coping skills than adults, (2) Stress has taken on epidemic proportions in kids’ lives today – the rates of anxiety and depression in girls have never been higher, (3) Long-term stress damages and rewires your brain, making it a lifelong weakness for kids who don’t learn how to handle it, and (4) The poor example of adults is not helping!
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