You’ve just been told your child is being bullied. Now you need to take action – but this is an emotional time for the family, and somehow you have to approach this rationally in order to fix the problem. That can be hard. Here are some ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ to help plan your next step and tackle the problem of bullying.

Bullying do’s

• Rationally collect and confirm the facts with your child.
• If it’s at the school, report it and work with the school to fix the problem. Most schools have tried-and-tested policies and strategies to deal with bullying.
• Discuss with your child ways to deal with the bully, encouraging them to walk away, keep away and speak to the teacher.
• Try to stay calm.

Bullying don’ts

• Don’t take matters into your own hands or act irrationally and impulsively.
• Never encourage a child to fight back.
• Don’t try to fix the problem by talking with the other children or parents.
• Don’t allow bullying to take place in your own home.

This article was written by Fiona Baker, former editor in chief of Mother & Baby, Pregnancy & Birth and Wondertime magazines, for Kidspot. Sources include Bullying No Way, National Centre Against Bullying, Raising Children Network, and Bullying Hurts.