As a parent or guardian, you might be wondering what you can do to help fight bullying. We all know that standing up against bullies can sound pretty scary to kids, but encouraging them to do it can help them in so many ways. Not only does it help them develop their own self-esteem and resilience, it helps them resist negative appearance pressures, too.
Standing up against bullies – will it help?
When your child sees someone being teased or bullied about their appearance, they might think that the best thing to do is to stay quiet. This could be because they are scared of conflict, or becoming a target themselves, but by doing nothing and allowing the bully’s nasty behavior to continue, it makes them a ‘bully bystander’. Being a ‘bully bystander’ can have a detrimental impact on not only the victim, but also the bully and the bystanders. Doing or saying nothing, helps to reinforce the behavior of the bully and teach kids that bullying based on appearance is okay.