What+You+Can+Do+To+Stop+Bullying

=What You Can Do To Stop Bullying= Schools, family, friends and neighborhoods can all take steps to prevent bullying.

Telling an Adult

 * Bullies want the victim to feel ashamed and think that telling someone will make the bullying worse. If the victim informs an adult, such as a teacher or parent, he can deal with the bully and end the behavior. Bullies pick on people smaller and weaker than them, so they quickly back down when someone older and with authority steps in.

School Policy

 * Many schools formulate a specific policy on bullying. According to the book "Bullies: From the Playground to the Boardroom," the United Kingdom made such policies mandatory for public schools in 1999. Elements of a policy may include taking accusations of bullying seriously, always contacting parents of both the bully and the victim, and always enforcing consequences for students who bully.

Awareness Education

 * Teaching students directly about the nature of bullying and how they can prevent it helps stop bullying. This may involve targeting particular types of bullying, such as racism and homophobia. Interactive workshops, visiting speakers, drama and role-playing work well alongside more traditional teaching methods.

Personal Safety

 * Students can look out for their own safety by staying in groups, joining school societies and ignoring bullying behavior, rather than retaliating. Ignoring means walking away instead of responding verbally or physically. The victim can still report the incident to an adult.

Role Modeling

 * Often, children bully simply because they imitate the behavior they see in adults. Teachers, parents and authority figures can unwittingly encourage children to bully by exhibiting bullying behavior themselves, such as shouting, humiliating others, making fun and disregarding people's feelings.

Respect Diversity

 * Bullying stems from perceived differences. Even without addressing bullying explicitly, a family, school or community can discourage bullying by promoting an atmosphere of tolerance and respect for everyone, regardless of color, religion, gender, appearance and sexuality. Practical ways to do this include praising children openly for the things that make them unique.

Involve the Police
 Read more: [|Ways to Stop Bullying | eHow.com] [|http://www.ehow.com/list_7162655_ways-stop-bullying.html#ixzz1c3RCUnyc]
 * Sometimes bullying becomes serious enough to warrant police intervention, especially when it involves physical harm. This action not only helps victims by preventing further bullying, but helps the bully by drawing attention to his abusive behavior. It could be the wake-up call that ends the cycle.