5 tips to prevent bullying

TOWSON, MD - Students across the state are heading back to the classrooms.
As they settle into the school environment , some will face bullies.
Bullying is a big problem that affects lots of kids.

Three quarters of all kids say they have been bullied or teased.
It can make kids feel hurt, scared, embarrassed and sad.
Many schools have taken steps to educate students and train staff as a way to prevent bullying.
Here are five tips for parents to prevent bullying:

First-- encourage your child to walk with confidence-- people are less likely to be picked on if they walk and sit with a calm awareness and confidence.

Second -- stand up for yourself-- encourage your child to have a clear, but firm voice to tell the person to stop. The child needs to be able to set clear boundaries to avoid a threatening situation.

Third -- protect your feelings from name calling-- teach kids to protect themselves from hurtful words by imagining throwing them into a trash can instead of taking them inside their hearts or head.

Fourth-- make bullying against the rules-- make sure that your child's school has a clear written violence and harassment prevention policy that everyone agrees to uphold. Pay attention when children are upset with each other and take the lead in helping them develop skills for handling conflict.

And finally-- be persistent in getting help-- children who are being bullied need to be able to tell teachers exactly what happened and be persistent about getting help with someone in authority.

"Baltimore county has proactive plan to deal with bullies in the school and we have guidelines set in place and the staff is trained on the procedures.. students are made aware.. parents are made aware and certainly all the schools are a safe place for students to report bullying so the school is able to be proactive in dealing with that issue," said Kelly Erdman, Principal at Dumbarton Middle School.

Hopefully following these tips will help your child have a safe and happy school year.