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• Reputation: 1195 Q&A: 21 0 13 542 42 3 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Follow Following 2 Sphinx

  3 0 In my experience, kids who are both comfortable with their personal identity and who have strong friend groups don't suffer as much from bullying, even if they experience it. I think the best way to help your child prepare for bullying is to help her (or him) cultivate a friend group-- at this age, you're a key part of that equation. Make sure your child has opportunities to spend time with friends, either in your own home or at activities you help to organize/supervise. Also, make sure you support your child's overall development (physical, social, intellectual and emotional). A child who feels like she can keep up with her peers doesn't feel as worried about the occasional bullying, whereas a child who struggles to do a key developmental task (like reading, for example) will be more insecure. And always talk to your child about her life in a way that allows her to come to you when she has a problem (ie, in a way that respects the seriousness of her feelings, does not minimize her importance, and is not overly judgmental). Sphinx answered in Parenting Q&A about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

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  2 0 I have hung onto this great article on bully-proofing your kids. It's not 100% applicable to the mean girls situation but is still useful: http://wondertime.go.com/learning/article/bullyproof-your-child.html mynameiskate answered in Parenting Q&A about 1 year ago | Report 1 comment by Nancy … 0 0 Great article. Thanks for posting it. Nancy commented about 1 year ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

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  2 0 The best defense against bullying and mean kids is to have a secure place within a group of loyal friends. So, anything you can do to help your daughter develop and maintain friendships will boost her self-esteem and resilience. When the mean stuff starts you'll acknowledge how much it hurts but resist the urge to try and solve the problem for her or simply dismiss these girls as morons. She may have to grieve the loss of a friendship if one of the mean girls was once a close friend. Give her the supportive emotional space to do that and maybe come up with some coping strategies on her own. You might want to check out the book "Don't Pick On Me" by Susan Eikov Green, published by New Harbinger. ChrisMcCurry answered in Parenting Q&A about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

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• Reputation: 78 Q&A: 2 0 0 40 2 0 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Expert: 1 topic Parenting Q&A Follow Following 0 Janelle Durham

  1 0 My teen girls say they've had a few encounters with mean girls, and bullying, but not much, so your daughter may luck out. But, here's some ideas for how to help: - Help your daughter to have good self esteem and be able to recognize her own strengths so her confidence in herself can't easily be beaten down. - Help her understand that other people view the world differently. Just because I love brown rice doesn't mean everyone does. Just because one girl has a mean opinion about you doesn't mean everybody does. - Encourage her to reach out to friends... if a mean girl says you look ugly, it's nice to be able to go to your friends and get reassurance that you look just fine. - Let her know that if someone says something that makes her feel bad about herself, she can always come and ask you if it's true - "do I really have scrawny legs?" And then be honest with her when you answer, so she knows that she's got a fair objective opinion... "Your legs are skinnier than some girls are. They may fill out as you get older like mine did. But, for now, I know that your legs do all the work you need them to do - you're such a fast runner, that tells me your legs are good as they are." - Help her understand other kids' motivations... Julie Metzger, who teaches the Great Conversations classes at Children's Hospital, tells kids "Everyone wants to feel involved and important." Some girls have discovered that the only way they can feel important is to bully other kids. Helping them figure out other ways to feel good about themselves may mean they don't need to bully as much. Janelle Durham answered in Parenting Q&A about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

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  0 0 I've hesitated to answer this because I don't have all the answers. I do like the complete answers that Chris, Janelle and the other writers give below. My addition is to work with her teachers, schools, parent groups, teams, neighborhood etc. to develop a culture that discourages bullying, put downs, and in groups. Vinnie answered in Parenting Q&A about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

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