Bullies

The kind in grade school this time not the ones in Washington DC!

For nearly a decade I have been part of a forum for mothers who all had children in the same month. Collectively, those women are the "smartest woman I know" because among us all we have an amazing span of experience. Yesterday, I was called upon to repost my list of links to resources on bullying. Little 'Skandar had a few run-ins with bigger boys back when he was in pre-K. My eternal graduate student self took over (nothing I love more than researching a new topic) and in one morning I had complied a set of on-line resources to deal with this painful topic. Many of the women on the forum have used it repeatedly over the years. I have now updated it and thought I'd add it to the blog as well.

Large site devoted to the issue of bullies http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/parents/life/health_happiness/problems/bullying.shtml
A british organization devoted to ending bullying
http://www.bullying.co.uk/
A British guide to dealing with bullies in school
http://www.ace-ed.org.uk/advice/booklets/Bullying.html
Bullying, how to stop it
http://www.ianr.unl.edu/pubs/family/nf309.htm
An entire site for dealing with bullies, refers to out-of-print articles, lots of great stuff here!http://www.scre.ac.uk/bully/index.html
A more academic article:
http://www.ericdigests.org/1997-4/bullying.htm
A new site with lots of info:
http://www.stopbullyingnow.com/
Lots of good links here and recent information:
http://www.education.unisa.edu.au/bullying/

One new approach that is taught to my children in school is the idea of "the courageous bystander." This notion recognizes that it is typically difficult if not impossible for the victim to disrupt the bullying dynamic but often all it take is a "courageous bystander" who intervenes with a "knock it off" or a joke or any remark that lets the bully know that his actions are seen by the broader community and that they are not acceptable.