How do you prevent bullying?

Question

My poor son is destined to be small. Stupid genetics. I'm 5'3" and the hubby is 5'4" and that's tall for his family! He's also mixed race so that might cause some problems for stupid mean kids. How can I raise him to ether prevent bullying or stop it as soon as it starts? I was never bullied that much. My hubby was and it really affected him. How can my son not have issues? We thought about signing him up for martial arts when he's older but would that do much?

Answer

Martial Arts. It builds confidence and helps with self defense.  It really works wonders for kids.

Answer

I've been bullied so much in school so I can honestly tell you a few things that might help... For one, speak highly to him and encourage him all the time. I say that because some of my family picked on me for my small boobs, called me fat, stupid, or whatever... Not saying by any means that you would do something like that but I think being an encouraging, optimistic parent really helps a child's confidence! Don't push him too much, but maybe try to get him involved in sports or some sort of activity, or martial arts like you were saying. I say this stuff because I think how a child responds to bullying can have an impact on it to some degree. I think if I might've had more friends or wouldn't have been so intimidated, more confident, I might not have been so prone to it because I would've stood up for myself. Bullying can cause depression and anxiety... I think it's a huge reason I've had social anxiety. Everyone is different but just make sure you look for signs and communicate. Kids hate it, but if it does happen, I would go straight to the school to report it happening. Being proactive is the best thing you can do because I hate to say it, but it can be really hard to prevent.

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I think confidence is key. I think as long as he's happy with who he is and feels great about who he is then it will help him in life overall. That's how's I feel about anyone though not just this situation.

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Just teach him to ignore what others say and defend himself. And hey maybe there's some hope. My aunt and uncle are about 5"3 and 5"5 and their son is almost 6"0. Butttt their daughter is 5"0. So u never really know for sure. Definitely enroll him in martial arts though. He may not ever need to use it but it's nice to learn

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You can't prevent bullying. You can only build his self asteem and self love up so high that it doesn't phase him. When I was kid my mom dad and family always made me feel like I was a  super model (I had the opposite problem I'm mixed but I'm super tall always been the tallest one in my class) so in school when kids would pick on me call me giant, manly, an Oreo id be like bitch please I'm FAABBULOOSSS lol. Moral of the story to this day there's nothing any bully could say to hurt me because I'm beautiful and my parents always made sure I knew it

Answer

I was bullied a lot in school. 
My mom would always say, "who cares what other people think?"
And my father would always say, "don't be a pussy!" 
So I didn't care what others thought and I didn't act like a pussy about it lol. I stood up for myself, as well as others, and I didn't care what people thought of me. I focused on being a good person and liking the person I am and that got me through it. If I got beat up it didn't stop me from speaking up for myself or others and eventually people left me alone. Martial arts would definitely be fun for him and he will most likely make good friends there and learn a thing or two about fighting if it came down to that but I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Answer

Treach him to be the bigger person and what that means. Actually get envolved when you notice him being bullied. Get envolved with the school when you notice any bullies period. 
I was bullied from the moment I started school to finish, the best tool against it is parents and faculties that actually give a damn.

Answer

You can't prevent it but you can prepare and react too it. Make sure yournkid knows who's opinion is really important and how to handle himself in these situations. I am small and have always been a target my mother always taught me to fight back if it got physical but to also pick my battles.  I think the most important thing though is simply confidence, if they have a strong confidence then that is usually a  deterrence to bullies,they go for the weak, some bullies will test to see who is weak and who is strong those are the ones you have to stand up too. I found the best thing to do is laugh at them and act like you don't care and take it out on a punching bag later, if they think they can't get to you then they get bored and go away. So it depends on who is the bully, if they hit you though you got to hit back or it never ever stops. Yeah....I have  a lot of experience with this sadly.

Answer

Martial arts is really good. The teach about diffusing the situation as much as protecting yourself.

Answer

This is such a real fear for us parents. It kills me to think of my daughter being bullied by the kinds of people who hurt my feelings growing up.

How do you prevent bullying?

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