Bullying Prevention with the Four Antidotes to Childhood Bullying and the Five Personality Traits Critical to Them
Being isolated from peers and having one’s self esteem chipped away day after day is the hallmark of the bullying that involves almost 30% of youth in the United States. Bullying prevention and helping your child to fend off bullies is critical to their success and happiness in school.
It’s not surprising then to see that factors that decrease isolation and increase self esteem help protect youth from bullying.
That’s not to say these “four antidotes” listed below will prevent a child from ever being bullied, but rather these antidotes will them help fend off a bully and prevent them from becoming an ongoing victim of bullying.
(Looking for info on how to prevent bullying in schools? School administrators should visit our page about school-wide bullying prevention and choosing a school-wide anti-bullying program.)
Without further ado:
Bullying Prevention: The Four Antidotes to Bullying
- A strong sense of self: does your child believe themselves to be confident, capable and component?
- Being a friend to someone
- Having at least one good friend
- Being in a group
Regardless of whether the bullying has already started or you’d like to prevent it from happening in the first place, helping your child develop a strong sense of self and self-esteem, showing them how to be a good friend, showing them to how to develop health friendships with others and finally teaching them how to become part of a group are skills that will serve them well throughout childhood.
As a parent, you may not be able to directly prevent bullying in schools, but you can make your child less of a target for bullies.
In support of the four antidotes to bullying are the personality traits that enable a child to successfully implement the four antidotes to bullying (and fend off bullies.)
The Five Personality Traits Critical to the Four Antidotes to Bullying
- Friendliness
- Willingness to share
- Willingness to cooperate
- Skill in joining the play of other children
- Possessing a sense of humor
The five personality traits above are from a 1990 thesis, “The Behavioural Attributes of Victimized Children” by doctoral student S. Pierce.
