If you are concerned about how your child will fare when school starts, there are things you can be doing during the summer to help the situation. Whether a child goes to a new school or goes back to the same school, parents must be proactive.
I remember when my parents decided to move to Florida after my sophomore year in high school. I was sad beyond belief and terrified. Starting a new high school as a junior was in my mind the most awful experience any kid could experience. My mom was smart enough to connect with the parents of kids my age. She had a party for me so that I would have friends prior to the start of school.
Because of what she did, I didn’t have to start school alone. Kids who are alone are more likely to be picked on and more likely to seek friends anyway they can. Too often the kids who welcome them are the ones who are not the kind that you would select as your kids’ friends.
So my suggestion is that you do what you can to help your child connect with a peer group. The more friendships they have with their peers, the less likely they are to become the targets of bullies.
Depending on the ages of your kids, cyber bullying may be something to be concerned about. If you take proactive measures to help your child become more popular, the more likely it will be that they have better self esteem which means that bullying will be less likely.
It is so much more effective to have kids helping kids instead of having adults stepping in to try to stop the bullying after it happens.
Photo: kevincole
