Bullying affects many young people, and continuous harassment at school may be impacting your teen’s academic performance as well as other areas of life. If your son or daughter is the victim of incessant bullying, there are things that you can do as a parent to try to resolve the situation. Here are a few ways to help your teenager when bullying gets out of hand at school.
Arrange Meetings with Faculty
You have the right to request meetings with the principal, teachers and other school faculty to try to put an end to your child’s bullying. During any of these meetings, you can present a log that your teen has kept that lists the dates and details of certain instances of bullying so that faculty can be made aware of the full extent of the problem. You may choose to bring your teen along to these meetings or meet with the school staff on your own if you believe that these meetings will add more emotional trauma to your teen’s life.
Seek Legal Help
If the school fails to do its part to protect your child from physical or serious emotional harm, you may have ground to take legal action. You can contact the police if the bullying includes physical or sexual violence or any threats of violence. An attorney may also be able to provide sound advice and represent you and your teen in a court of law if a lawsuit or any restraining orders should be filed.
Consider Online Schooling
As much as the school might be making efforts to make things better for your teen, you may consider pulling your teen out of the school and opting for online learning if no end to the bullying is in sight. It’s possible to enroll your teen in an online high school that includes curriculum that teaches all the challenging subjects that your son or daughter needs to achieve academic success. Doing online schooling will give your teen the chance to learn from the comfort and safety of home without having to endure bullying from classmates any longer.
Encourage Learning Self-Defense
Learning self-defense can help your teen protect themselves from school bullies and other dangerous individuals in life. Many karate, taekwondo and other martial arts classes teach students the principles of self-defense and when to employ them. However, it’s important to emphasize to your teen that they should only use the fighting techniques that they learn to defend themselves so that they don’t end up becoming the bully.
Growing up is tough enough, and no young person should have to deal with excessive bullying as a normal part of childhood. By taking proactive measures, your teen will have an easier time getting through school without having to worry so much about their physical and emotional safety. Most importantly, listen to your teenager when they come to you with concerns. It’s not always easy for the administration to adequately handle bullying on their own and it is important for parents to take steps with their own teen to protect them when necessary.
