How to identify if your child is a bully?

Psychiatrist and author Stella O'Malley, in her book Bully-Proof Kids, describes how parents can protect their children from becoming a bully and how they can recognize that their child is a bully. Stella O'Malley has written four books on parenting so far. According to her, most of the children seeking love and belonging are victims of bullying. O'Malley prefers to call bullies tricky people.

She says that we keep meeting tricky people all the time in life. Instead of being afraid of the bully, we should think about ending the fear of the children who are victims of it. People who stand by people harassed by bullies are called upstanders. Such people help people who are being harassed. For example, if you are going on public transport and if you see a person being racist, then you stand with the person being harassed.

How do parents know if their child is a bully?

• Parents should take care that their children do not get the idea of ​​being better than others.
  If this is the case, then the children may be bully or support bullies.
• Teach your children how to respect the views of others.
• Ask your children if there is any child in school who is isolated.
• Does they talk to all the children equally?
• If a child is alone, ask your child to go and talk to him.
• Is there any child that irritates them, if so, why is it so?

About the book

When you’re a child, tween or teen, the social scene can be difficult to handle. Some kids haven’t yet developed the social skills to be able to cope confidently in this toxic world where bullies won’t let up, worried victims are ashamed to tell and bystanders don t act to help the situation. 'Bully-Proof Kids' gives parents – and kids – the tools to break the cycle by examining the factors that contribute to bullying: the school environment; the personalities of those involved; and the often-overlooked role of bystanders.

In this new book, Stella describes what determines whether your child may become a victim, a bystander or a bully and offers concrete strategies to help you empower your children to be socially competent and deal with bullying both online and in school. 

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