As we contemplate a more accepting and tolerant world, it is especially important to influence the younger generation by talking about bullying and it’s prevention. When young people are taught about bullying and appropriate strategies to react to it, they can positively impact their friends, schools and communities. Here are a few techniques to assist in the education of bully prevention.
1. Help Youth Understand Bullying.
It is the responsibility of all adults to provide guidance and support and understanding regarding bullying and it’s prevention. Thoroughly explain what bullying is and how it how it can be prevented and where the line needs to be drawn between healthily teasing and being mean or cruel. It is important to help youth understand what they can do when they encounter or witness bullying snd know how to react on their terms safely.
2. Keep Lines of Communication Open.
When responsible adults keep an open dialogue with youth, there could be fewer opportunities for them experience bullying. Explain that they should speak out if they believe they are witnessing or being bullied. Bullying is difficult to understand and certainly to prevent without being able to ask and answer difficult questions. Make sure you keep the lines of communication open; ask and be prepared to answer any questions youth have. This way, they can determine what bullying is and how it affects them.
3. Encourage Youth to Do What They Love.
Youth can be more inclined to try a variety of things if they are exposed to new experiences. I have often found that bullying stems from ignorance. Expose youth to different arts, cultures, sports and people. Educate them and encourage them to do something they never did before, something they are curious about, sometime they can become passionate about. In this way, they can form a broader understanding of numerous diversities and be less likely to be bullied or bully others because of what they previously thought of other people, cultures, and situations, as well as how others think about them, their culture or lifestyles. Encouraging youth to understand and enjoy what they do, they can can become more confident and possibility create a more diverse group of acquaintances.
4. Model for Them How to Treat Others With Respect and Kindness.
Adults must set the example and model how to treat others with respect and kindness. Set an example for the next generation to demonstrate expectations for them to be self-assured, happy, and content with who they and their peers are. This can help them prevent bullying by their understanding that everyone deserves respect and kindness regardless of stature or age.
In conclusion, when it comes to bullying prevention and how youth understand others, parents, guardians and teachers have a most important lessons to teach. The more we encourage empathy, the more we discuss that differences are acceptable, the more awareness we can spread throughout neighborhoods and communities, the more we can ignite the spark of behavioral change.