Beirut - Bullying is a serious problem, leaving the victim feeling psychologically hurt, scared, sick, lonely, embarrassed, and sad. The bully may hit, push, call the child embarrassing names, verbally hurt, or intimidate them.

Bullying is a social phenomenon. Most children are subjected to bullying or harassment, which can leave them feeling psychologically stressed out due to their fear of confronting the bully. They may refuse to play outside the home or even go to school.

This phenomenon poses a significant threat to children, due to its profoundly negative impact on the victim's psyche, particularly children. The child continues to suffer from it for a long time unless a parent or specialist intervenes to put an end to the problem.

A child needs constant support and attention, and it is essential to create a safe environment for them so they can talk about anything without worrying about being blamed, ridiculed, or feeling that no one will understand them.

How to deal with bullying

Life coach Aline Daoud advises mothers to teach their children how to avoid being bullied, and to come up with ideas and methods to help them protect themselves, such as:

Encourage him to talk to you, making sure to remain calm and listen to your child with love and attention.
Get your child used to sharing his fears with you.
Create a healthy and safe environment for your child, as this plays a major role in indirectly boosting their self-confidence.
Boost your child's self-confidence directly by telling them about their strengths and uniqueness, helping them make friends, participating in various activities, and telling them that you love them. All of this makes the child confident and loving in themselves.
Let your child learn some self-defense sports, which will give him courage and personal strength, thus enabling him to repel anyone who wants to harm him physically.
Teach him how to respond and handle such situations. For example, don't tell him he has to act violently or fight. Instead, you can tell him he can ask whoever is bothering him to leave him alone, or he can walk away and completely ignore him. The important thing is not to describe your child in anything negative, such as saying you're a coward or unable to protect yourself. This will have a profound effect on his psyche, and he'll be less likely to talk to you about any problems he faces again.
Teach your child to make friends to ensure they are not left alone at school, as bullies often pick on children who are alone.
Be empathetic to your child even on your bad days; children who are teased and bullied suffer from hypersensitivity for at least a period of time.

"If you feel the situation is dangerous, use your common sense and contact the school and the necessary authorities to stop the bully. Understand the situation well and make a well-informed and swift decision for your child's safety," says counselor Aline Daoud.

Aline Daoud suggests providing your child with a list of appropriate responses to verbal bullying. These responses should be simple and not irritating to the bully, such as, "Are you feeling better?" "Finally, you found something funny to say," "I don't care," "Why are you talking to me?" "Excuse me," "But you seem to think I care," and "This is so boring."

Tips for dealing with bullies

According to KidsHealth, parents play a key role in teaching their children to defend themselves against bullies, avoiding anger, violence, fighting, or responding aggressively. Parents should also encourage the child to stay away from the situation and make sure to inform an adult about the situation.

According to the website, the most important tips and advice that can be provided to resolve this problem are as follows:

Inform specialists and counselors, whether at school or elsewhere, and communicate with them to resolve this issue.
Make sure the child is with friends and not alone, and ignore the bully if possible.
Practice staying calm, showing self-confidence, and presenting a serious, cool face.
If you have to deal with a bully, try speaking in a firm and strong voice to show that you don't care about the comments they make. Look them in the eye and stand up straight to build your self-confidence while you're talking to them. This will make the bully stop harassing you after a few sessions because you're not affected by their actions.
Dealing with a bully without fear.
Avoid shouting or raising your voice so that the bully does not feel empowered.
If the bully continues to harass, you can respond firmly, such as, “Stop doing that,” and move away immediately so that you do not give them a chance to respond.