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Parents Can Help Prevent School Bullying
Wednesday, Apr 30, 2008 - 10:00 AM Updated: 04:54 PM
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Save This PageIn the past several months, we've reported on cases of bullying, both locally and nationally.
Back in February, we showed video of a 14-year-old Derenne Middle School student bullying a classmate. It was all recorded and posted on the internet.
The Savannah Chatham School District and the Rape Crisis Center put on Bullying Awareness Workshops for parents.
Bullying is a major issue. It's an adult's responsibility to deal with bullying, not just the parents or the school district. It has to be a team effort.
The workshops are set up to educate parents on what they should look for; types of bullies or roles children play; the bully, the victim, and the bystander and how to deal with each.
Educators also talked about tactics, the differences between harassment, bullying, and teasing, how targets are chosen and even about cyber bullying, which is not something we as adults experienced when we were young.
"We'd write a little note about somebody, maybe 15 or 20 people would read the note, you know gossiping or whatever and kinds of things, but now with the internet, when they go on, the internet and they start these rumors, gossiping or threats, you'll have 1, 2, 300 kids at the school that will know." explains Ron Roberts, Prevention Coordinator for the Rape Crisis Center.
Parents and grandparents came out for more information. Some have children who are experiencing bully problems at school.
“They were great strategies because you don't, as he said, you don't know what's the difference between bullying, teasing, and all of the sexual harassment, so I'm very, very happy since they went through all of these steps, he explained everything.” Explains Eva Alas, mother of 4.
Other Incidents:
You might remember the video we showed you in January of a trophy case at Savannah High School. Several students attacked a 17-year-old classmate. His head went through a trophy case and he went to the hospital. School officials tell us that all stemmed from spilled milk.
But those incidents are not all. Several parents have called 3 On Your Side education reporter Randi Hempel, concerned about their children's safety. They call reaching out for help or advice, and, of course, searching for answers.
One family actually moved because her son was bullied at his old middle school. This year, school is fine, but the bus stop was the problem. Other parents tell us how their children were attacked in the halls at school.
“I had to take him to the orthodontist after the emergency room and they had to remove all the rubber bands and put more rubber bands in and clean his braces because of all the blood." Says concerned mother, Judith Anderson.
"The child ran up behind her, grabbed her by the back of her hair pulled her back with the bookbag on her back, holding her arms down so that she couldn't fight back" says concerned mother Terri Hodges.
Advice for Parents
Often, when children are being bullied, parents feel helpless, or maybe they don't even know their child is the target of a bully. There are signs to look for and ways to help your child deal with the circumstances.
“A simple question you can ask your child if you want to trick them is say, who's the bully in your class and watch their reaction or was anybody bullied today and watch their response, there are also signs." Says Ron Roberts, the prevention coordinator at the Rape Crisis Center.
Roberts says there are several signs parents can look for that would indicate bullying.
He says look for torn clothing, missing books or other school supplies. Also, missing lunch money or your child coming home hungry are signs of bullying. He says you should also look for change in moods, behavior, friends and language.
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