More than Bystanders

Teaching Kids How to Be More Than Bystanders And Stand Up to Bullies - See more at: http://www.micheleborba.com/blog/2013/09/07/mobilizing-bystanders-to-stand-up-to-bullies/#sthash.LHhq3HGO.dpuf

I found the following excellent article by Dr. Michele Borba with specific suggestions on how to teach your children to safely be "more than bystanders" when they see someone being bullied. One of my favorites:  teaching children the difference between reporting a bullying incident and tattling. Enjoy!

Teaching Kids How to Be More Than Bystanders And Stand Up to Bullies
by Dr. Michele Borba

In this NBC’s Dateline special: “The Perils of Parenting,” I appear as the expert on bullying. Producers asked me to teach middle school students–when bullying peaks–specific bystander strategies to deal with bullies. I developed the techniques after reviewing dozens of studies on the “Bystander Effect” and have trained hundreds of educators in how to use them with students. The US Army also invited me to teach these skills on our 18 of our bases in Europe and the Asian-Pacific. They work (so says the students!) I’ll be sharing these in with educators in Washington DC at School Safety Summits and the National Character Education Partnership Conference in October.

How to Teach Kids to Be Active Bystanders
Studies show that active bystanders can do far more than just watch. In fact, student bystanders may be our last, best hope in reducing bullying. Active student bystanders can:

~ Reduce the audience that a bully craves
~ Mobilize the compassion of witnesses to step in and stop the bullying
~ Support the victim and reduce the trauma
~ Be a positive influence in curbing a bullying episode
~ Encourage other students to support a school climate of caring
~ Report a bullying incident since 85 percent of time bullying occurs when an adult is not present. Students are usually the witnesses

When bystanders intervene correctly, studies find they can cut bullying more than half the time and within 10 seconds. [Pepler and Craig]
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