Five Top Tips if your Child is being Bullied

Edited: 27/10/2021

Childhood should be full of fun, excitement, and meeting new people. Unfortunately, sometimes it doesn’t happen like that, and we get picked on and bullied. As parents or carers, we don’t like to think about children being bullied or, even worse, being bullied. But there is a good chance you will have to deal with it at some point, so we wanted to give some advice to those being bullied.

Check out our other blog: Five Reasons why Acting Classes for Kids are Beneficial

Here are our top five recommendations for protecting children from bullying at school or elsewhere:

Tell Someone

No matter what the bully tells you, you do not have to keep quiet. You may think it will only make the situation worse, but it won’t. In fact, in old age, ‘a problem shared is a problem halved’ is very true. When you keep all your problems inside, you can feel anxious and overwhelmed.

Tell a parent, teacher, or trusted friend, and, importantly, don’t retaliate. That’s exactly what they want. No matter what age you are, take the higher ground. Someone can assist you, and someone will always listen.

Don’t Tolerate it

Don’t accept that this is the way it is. Your school life can be challenging enough without being bullied as well. This isn’t acceptable, and it’s not OK for you to feel scared, threatened, or intimidated by anyone else. Don’t get angry at the bully; keep calm but be resolute. It’s not right, and I will speak to someone because I do not allow this.

Record It

It’s a great idea to record what is happening in case you need to return to it in the future for evidence. It’s also a useful way to express pent-up feelings. You could record it by writing it in a journal, recording it on your phone if you have one, or writing it in a document on the computer.

Think about Yourself

You should always be your number one priority and be kind to yourself. But when you’re getting bullied, it’s easy to self-blame and think you brought this on yourself—you didn’t. This is not your fault, and it won’t be forever. Talk to yourself positively; you’re doing the best you can, and you are a good person.

Speak to the experts

This is a great resource for those who are being bullied. You can also speak to Childline, which has trained professionals on hand to help you. Also, within your child’s school, there should be a counsellor or a trusted teacher that you can speak to to help you through.

We take bullying very seriously at the Anna Fiorentini School of Theatre & Film, and luckily, it’s a very, very rare occurrence that it happens at all. We preach a message of kindness and compassion and believe children should be encouraged and build confidence through performing arts. Our school provides a friendly, safe, and supportive environment where every child is free to express themselves and grow in their creative and technical abilities. If you would like to take a look at our schools, click here.