Should You Tell Your Child to Just Ignore a Bully?

26 years in public school dealing with bullying has given me some solid insights to share with parents. The most common advice parents give their child when a kid is being mean/bullying them is to just "ignore it." Although it may sound like good advice, completely ignoring someone who is talking to them will probably backfire and motivate the mean kid to continue the behavior. Why? Because the mean kid knows your kid is only pretending not to hear it because what is being said is upsetting to your child. What to do? #1 Your child should always ignore and not engage a mean kid if your child feels physically intimidated: if so they need to get to the nearest adult. 2. If they do not feel physically intimidated/threatened, it's important for your child to acknowledge that someone is speaking to them. This can be done by making eye contact then looking away without replying or making eye contact and saying "why are you talking to me?" and then look away and ignore them. Look for more videos coming soon to give more suggestions on this topic. For the full video visit my website: www.thomasletson.com I offer online therapy sessions for kids in NJ schools who are dealing with bullying. DM me for more information!