There have been decades of study and many programs claiming to be the solution to bullying, and few programs have actually proved to be effective. One of the main problems in preventing bullying is trying to decrease the already established behavior, instead of trying to stop the behavior before it begins.
Bullying behaviors start in a child’s early years. And while in your care, you play a critical role in determining whether bullying grows and intensifies, or whether it is stopped and prevented. Everyone who interacts with young children can take steps to teach them the skills they need to avoid bullying all together.
Talk About Bullying
One of the main things you can do to prevent bullying is to talk about it with the children in your care. Talk openly about bullying with them to let them know that you take bullying seriously and will make sure it does not happen in your early childhood classroom or care facility. Take time to discuss with them about how you can work together to stop and prevent bullying. This lets them know they are part of a safe, cooperative, and inclusive environment.
Teaching Social Skills
Another thing you can do is teach the children about how to have good social skills and behavior and how to solve problems. You can teach and prepare them to practice the skills they need to develop friendships, and ways to help stop and prevent bullying. Social skills and problem solving can be taught through storytelling, videos, role-playing, puppetry, games and curricular activities, designed to the age and developmental levels of the children in your classroom.
And lastly, involve the parents. When teachers and parents (or caregivers) come together to solve a problem, they model the very behavior they want to see from the children. Asking for the parents cooperation and support for teaching about bullying prevention, will help reinforce what their children are learning in the classroom. Parents can adapt and apply the bullying prevention lessons to their daily routines at home.