Best Tips to Prevent Bullying in School

Bullying is a common and growing problem in almost all schools. The problems like bullying need to be treated at the grassroots levels, otherwise, it can grow to ruin the students’ life entirely. Teachers as well as the management of the schools need to be very careful about the behaviors of the students to prevent bullying. 

Enforce Strict and Clear Rules

Bullying is an offense and it has to be treated as an offense. So, rules are very important. On the rule book of any school, write the expectations from the students very clearly. Also, it needs mention in case the students behave otherwise. 

Strict rules are a way to prevent bullying and these rules are not just important, these are necessary. Also, the people who bully will get aware of their behaviors and the people who get bullied will have the hope that they have a place to complain. Without the anti-bullying rules, the students will feel very hopeless and things will worsen. Lack of strict anti-bullying rules will detach the bullied students not just from their academic life, but also from their personal and social life. They will gradually develop depressing thoughts. So, anti-bullying rules are important in any institute to make all the students feel equal and valued. This is why enforcing no tolerance to bullying in all schools is a must. 

Openly Define What Is Bullying

A number of students at an early age cannot figure out what bullying is. As a result, bullied students get used to the rude behavior of others at a tender age. Teachers and parents need to help the students to understand the difference between normal behavior and bullying at an early age. Also, all the students need to be taught to inform the authority or teacher or parents, or anyone in case they are bullied. 

Also, define different types of bullying so that the bullied pupils can figure out what they are exactly facing. In schools, Verbal Bullying and Physical Bullying have very high statistics. But that does not mean that the students are completely out of Cyber bullying or Social Bullying. Students can face any type of bullying, so the types must be clear to them. 

Have A Look for the Warning Signs

Even after making strict rules, the bullied students are scared of informing about the treatment they are getting from their seniors or classmates. So, teachers and parents need to play an important role here. They have to look for the warning signs in the students and in case there are any signs of bullying in the students, they must be given proper assistance. Some visible signs of bullying are: 

• Decay in academic performance
• Lack of participation in school activities (class/sports activities) 
• Change in communication style
• Lack of appetite
• Sudden mood changes 
• Mental disturbance
• Lack of concentration

There is much more to mention, but these are the commonest and most visible signs. Once you identify these signs, be sure that there is something wrong with the students. You need to talk to him or her regarding this. 

Be A Reliable Person to the Students

There are some teachers whose appearance and attitude are so serious that students are scared to speak. With these teachers, the students hardly share anything, even after getting bullied very badly.

So be a tender and patient person to the students with whom they can share something. Also, try to gain their trust and reliability. Assure them that no matter what you will not judge them, instead, you will provide all types of help needed. Have open communication with them, in case the matter is serious, get the assistance of mental health workers or counselors. 

Teach and Reward Good Behaviors 

This is an important step to prevent bullying in a school. Teachers need to offer moral lessons importance of working in groups, respect for team members, the importance of opinion differences, and many others to the students. Once these good behaviors are followed in the class, the teachers need to reward the students. These rewards will lessen the bullying mentality of the students to a great extent. The students will realize that good behavior to all has a good value and these good behaviors can earn rewards for them too. 

Engage Parents 

The teachers, anti-bullying rules, mental health support, and open communication are OKAY, but without parental involvement, a bullied student cannot be brought to the mainstream. This is because the students spend specific hours in school. Rest of the day, they stay in their homes with their parents. So, the teachers need to communicate with parents, right after having any visible sign of getting bullied. Parents can monitor their children for the signs at the home. Free flow of communication between teachers and parents is essential to protect the children from developing serious mental health issues. 

To conclude, making no tolerance to bullying rules need to be enforced and the authority needs to ensure that the rules are strictly followed within the school. Teaching and rewarding good moral lessons are also needed to prevent bullying. Teachers, tutors, management of the school, and parents - altogether need to work to save the students.