Handling Child Aggression: What to do if your Child is a Bully

Child bullies often hurt or threaten other kids because of many factors such as lack of discipline, experiencing violence at home and being territorial. You should never neglect this problem especially if it concerns your own child, because your child's bullying behavior might continue until adulthood. The best thing that you should do is to address your child's bullying issues to put an end to this unacceptable behavior.

• Do not tolerate your child's bad behavior. As a parent, you may find it difficult to accept that your child is a bully at school, because it makes you feel that you are not a good parent. But you must understand that your child's bullying behavior must not be ignored, because it affects the lives of other children as well. Learn to face the truth about your child's bad behavior, so you can take necessary actions to correct him.

• Sit down and talk with your child. Ask why your child feels the need to bully other kids around. Determining the root of his bullying behavior can help solve your child's bullying issues. For instance, if your child bullies other kids because he was once bullied at school, tell him that hurting other kids just to make him feel better is not acceptable. Explain to your child that being a bully will only make him lose his friends and gain more enemies.

• Assess yourself. Your behavior at home might be the reason why your child bullies other kids. Remember that you should serve as a positive role model to your child, so be careful with your words and actions.

• Punish your child if bullying behavior continues. If lecturing your child is not enough to stop his bullying behavior, give him punishments so he can learn good behavior. Be firm when it comes to punishing your child, so he will realize his faults. Tell him that he cannot watch the television or play with his toys unless he starts behaving properly.

• Reduce violence at home. Do not allow your child to watch violent TV programs and play violent video games, because kids tend to mimic what they see. Your child might think that it is cool to be a bully, because his favorite cartoon character abuses people too.