Helping Your Child Handle Bullying This School Year
Dear Parent or Caring Adult,
As children across the U.S. head back to school, it’s an exciting time filled with new teachers, new friends, and new routines. For many families, it also brings up a difficult topic: bullying. Bullying isn’t always obvious. Sometimes it shows up as repeated teasing or exclusion. Other times, it’s physical, verbal, or even digital through social media. Whatever form it takes, bullying can affect a child’s confidence, self-worth, and willingness to engage in school.
Signs Your Child May Be Struggling: reluctance to go to school or sudden drop in enthusiasm, unexplained headaches, stomachaches, or sleep issues, withdrawal from friends or activities they once enjoyed, and negative self-talk or statements like “I’m not good enough.”
What You Can Do as a Parent or Caring Adult:
- Normalize communication - ask open-ended questions; validate feelings; encourage problem-solve with safe responses Tip: some kids tend to share bed at bedtime!
- Model Empathy - Role play handling conflict and display of confidence in responding. p
- Digital monitoring - set healthy boundaries on social media and digital devices where cyberbullying can occur.
- Partner with teachers and school officials - share concerns early and request support.
A Simple Confidence Practice: One way to strengthen resilience at home is through affirmations. When children regularly repeat positive messages like “I am brave” or “I believe in myself,” it helps them to reframe negative experiences and develop self-worth. That’s why I often recommend using tools like affirmation cards as part of daily routines. Whether read together before school, placed in a backpack, or shared at bedtime, these small rituals nurture an inner voice that says: “I am enough.”
Bullying is a difficult reality, but with the right support, children can grow through it - not be defined by it. Thank you for continuing to nurture confidence and resilience in your child. Together, we can empower kids to face challenges with strength and self-belief.
With care,
Dr. Reon Baird-Feldman
Founder, 2nd City Psych