STEP FIVE: Credible reporting
Sometimes a bullying situation has gone on so long that your child simply doesn’t have enough self- confidence to confront the bully without help from an adult. That’s why it’s an excellent idea to teach your child the 5 W’s of reporting bullying: who, what, when, where, and most importantly, witnesses.
When schools can corroborate a student’s claims of being bullied by independently and discreetly interviewing bystanders who saw what happened, it’s no longer a question of expecting the school to take your child’s word against the bully’s. Letting the truth come out benefits all concerned: the school’s reputation for fairness is enhanced, targets develop more self-confidence, and bullies learn that it’s really not cool to bully others.
Bullying is universal. Even worse, bullies don’t disappear after their school years, they simply reappear in the workplace. It’s like the old Chinese proverb: Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
By teaching children how to deal with a bully, we’re protecting them for a lifetime.
