Are you a bully? Perfect parents are not bullies. The rest of us, to some degree, are bullies. Have you ever forced your child to do something "Just because"? I have. Have you ever been guilty of the same wrong actions or deeds that you punished your child for? I have. The fact is we are a society of bullies. In the work place a supervisor who abuses their power over others is a bully. In the home a parent who abuses their absolute power is a bully. On our streets, a person who takes advantage of others vulnerabilities is a bully.
The point here is that this art of being a bully is passed on from one generation to another. The concept is shared so heavily between children and adults and children and children, and is glorified so completely in the movies and on television, that even if you are a perfect parent your kid could still become a bully. I recently read that 60% of children who bully other children will have some kind of criminal conviction by age 24.
Bulling is one of those problems that can only be solved in the home. Children must be trained by their parents to reject this concept as early as the third grade. If you have a child going into the seventh grade, as I do, you need to be actively taking steps to prepare them to deal with bullies. The number one anti-bully weapon you can give your child is self-confidence. Self-confidence is the drug that cures social abuse.
So how do you build self-confidence in your kid? Step one is to determine where self confidence is lacking. For instance, if your child was not blessed with strength and physical toughness, a summer in a self defense class would be fun and at the same time teach them that they do in fact have the means to protect themselves. If your child is a couch potato who solves their problems by disconnecting from reality in front of a television or video game, you can un-plug those things and get them involved in physical activities that will build their confidence in themselves. Most importantly, get the family involved in talking about bullying daily. The more you discuss this issue the more you will understand it and the more you will realize that you need not fear it. This is not something we can put off. Deal with it today.