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 #16
Teach The Skills Of Apology, Forgiveness, Accountability, And Repair.
People today view apology as weak, but nothing could be further from the truth. It takes strength to face yourself in the mirror and do the work needed to grow. Let kids sit with the discomfort of making mistakes. Don’t smooth the way. Let kids step into their age-appropriate responsibility to clean up the mess they created – a broken glass or a broken heart. Start when kids are young – it’s a hard skill to learn in the teen years, if you haven’t learned by then. Fortunately, adults can relearn as we teach our kids.
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