Here’s What You Said You Tell Your Kids About Bullying

As a parent, bullying is a very real issue that my wife and I have to constantly be aware of. That led to a question I had about what Wyoming parents tell their kids about bullying.

The specific question was what do you tell your kids to do if they are bullied. That led to dozens of responses on our Facebook page.

Here are some of your comments:

Heather Grove - We've giving our son steps, 1. Use your words, 2. Walk away 3. Tell a teacher and if after all that it's still going on, then you gotta stand up for yourself

Ryan Edwards - Defend yourself! Stand up now or be walked on forever!

Erin Baer - We teach them strategies to stand up for themselves. But since bullying is illegal, we also teach them to tell 2 adults, 1 at school and 1 at home. We also teach them the difference between kids being mean and kids being a bully.

Kirby Stevens - My son was being bullied and went to the teachers and the principal and nothing was done about it. He kept walking away and I told him to fight back. Guess what. He did and he got in trouble from the school. I went to the school and had a talk with the principal and the bullying still never stopped. Schools against bullying? Ya right

That's one of the reasons this is such a complicated issue. If your child tells a teacher or school administrator, what if that doesn't stop the bullying? Do you tell your kid to fight back and take the chance that they'll end up in trouble?

Here is the exact wording from the Natrona County School District policy on bullying:

As used in this policy, “bullying, harassment, or intimidation” means intentional conduct, including verbal, physical, or written conduct or an intentional electronic communication that creates a hostile educational environment by substantially interfering with a student’s educational benefits, opportunities, or performance, or with a student’s physical or psychological well-being and is: * motivated by an actual or a perceived personal characteristic including race, national origin, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, ancestry, physical attributes, socioeconomic status, familial status, or physical or mental ability or disability; or, * threatening or seriously intimidating; and, * occurs on school property, at a school activity or event, or on a school bus; or, * substantially disrupts the orderly operation of a school. “Electronic communication” means a communication transmitted by means of an electronic device, including but not limited to a telephone, cellular phone, computer, or pager.

My wife and I tell our kids to tell their teacher and us if they have any kind of problem like this. Then, we can follow up with the school to make sure something is being done about it. If the school doesn't respond, we tell our kids to stand up for themselves but avoid violence if at all possible.

Bullying is unfortunately a reality that every parent must face especially when you factor in that this includes social media and devices now. What would you tell your child to do if they're bullied?