With so many of us parents of school-aged kids, we were surprised that we didn’t realize just how big the impact of bullying can be. According to the National Crime Prevention Council, about 160,000 kids won’t go to school each day for fear of being bullied.
To us, that’s about 160,000 too many.
So we’re happy to share these amazing resources to help families who might be dealing with this in their own lives.
1. The Bully Project
The Bully Project is an important independent film turned non-profit initiative to help kids and families across the USA who are coping with bullying throughout the school year. Whether online, on their phones, on the bus, at home, or on the streets of their towns. Their website is full of great resources and links, and is a smart place to start.
2. StopBullying.Gov
These helpful websites provides information on both bullying and cyberbullying just for parents. You’ll find a series of bullying webisodes on StopBullying.Gov that I like a lot. They address myriad bullying issues in a way that kids, even young ones, can understand.
3. GirlsHealth
You’ll want to be sure to bookmark the Bullying page at GirlsHealth.gov, which features an extensive collection of online articles, publications, and websites related to the topic.
4. Pacer’s National Bullying Prevention Center
If you feel compelled to take action against bullying, you’ll find so many helpful ways to spread awareness through the National Bullying Prevention Center website at pacer.org. I love the idea of their Kids Against Bullying Puppet Show, which allows schools to purchase puppets and scripts that help teach kids about bullying prevention. If you happen to live in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, you can even ask them for a school visit.
5. Welcoming Schools
A project of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, Welcoming Schools encourages schools to take a proactive approach to ending bullying in connecting with a dedicated consultant to help plan and implement specific programs and events to support families. With a focus on family diversity, their “What Do You Know” film is an excellent starting point for discussion with your own kids about gender and familial differences.
6. PBS Kids Website
For those of you with older kids, we really like It’s My Life on PBSKids.org, a simple, interactive site for tweens and teens that engages kids about all sorts of issues, including Bullying. [Edited to add: Unfortunately, this resource is no longer available.] Your kids can read through various bullying related topics even play a “Beat the Bully” game; don’t worry, it’s a race. This is an excellent way to introduce your kids to the topic so you can discuss it further without alarming them.
7. The Trevor Project
If you know someone who is being bullied, then you should be aware of The Trevor Project which provides suicide prevention services and crisis intervention for LGBTQ youth through their 24/7 phone line and online chat. Parents can get information on suicide warning signs and tips for what you can do if a tween or teen you know if feeling suicidal.
8. It Gets Better Project
While most of us are by now aware of the remarkably compelling and viral It Gets Better Project, you might not know that you (or your teen) can actually upload your own video to the site and share your story. Just watching a few of the shared videos from peers their own age might be the best way to get the message across to a tween or teen in the first place.
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