How can I help protect my child from bullying?

If your child is being bullied at school, you need to work within the system to fix the problem. Psychologist Jennifer Hartstein, PsyD discusses the steps you should take to protect your kid from a bully.

Transcript

00:00

You might need to go see the head of the Board of Education. You might need to see the superintendent of the school. You might need to keep moving up the ladder.

00:07

If you're still not getting the support you need, you may need to consider whether or not you need to change the school environment. [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:21

It's really hard when your child is the victim and you want to jump in and protect them as much as possible.

00:27

So it's important to go through the proper channels, so to speak, in order to really get the help that you need. Oftentimes that starts with the school.

00:36

So you might go in and talk with the teacher, the guidance counselor, the principal, and ask them to step in and help

00:42

and protect your child. They might not be doing the best job, or it might take longer than you want or it might not be effective.

00:49

So you need to continue to go up the chain of command. You might need to go see the head of the Board of Education.

00:55

You might need to see the superintendent of the school. You might need to keep moving up the ladder. If you're still not getting the support you need,

01:02

you may need to consider whether or not you need to change the school environment. So maybe you need to get a safety transfer to another school in the neighborhood or in the area.

01:09

Maybe you need to home school your child for a period of time until you figure out what needs to happen. Your child's safety has to come first,

01:17

and although your impulse will be to call the other parent, to yell at the other kid, that's not going to ultimately be effective. You need to follow the proper chain in order