“Talk to them about what they’re experiencing”
As parents and carers, we COULD spend our entire waking moments consumed by worry. When mine were first born, it was the obvious things like ‘are they getting enough sleep?’, ‘do they need a burp or is it something else?’…... the list goes on. And then they get older and they go to school. They start mixing with lots of other people and all of a sudden, bullying may be the issue that’s keeping them, and you, up at night.
So this week, we had a conversation about bullying with Dr Lucy Betts. Lucy is a professor in social developmental psychology at Nottingham Trent University, and is the lead of the Bullying and Aggressive Behaviour Research Group. Her research focuses on the topics of bullying, cyberbullying, and harassment in public places.
“Talk to them about what they’re experiencing, how it makes them feel and what they want to happen”
Lucy gave us many interesting pointers about the different types of bullying, why people do it and how to respond. She said that supporting a young person who is being bullied in their decisions and making them feel empowered is key.
You can watch the webinar again HERE.
There is also more support and advice available through a helpline provided by the charity YoungMinds. You can find out more about it HERE.
This week’s tips
The NSPCC has some very useful pointers when it comes to bullying and cyber bullying affecting a young person.
Let them know who to ask for help.
Help them relax and take a time out.
Report bullying videos shared online.
For more advice, you can visit the charity’s website HERE
Next live webinar – Emotional Dysregulation
We’re talking about Emotional Dysregulation with Dr Russell Woodhead. Russell found Thriving Teen and has joined us before on Let’s All Talk Mental Health. He was so good, we didn’t want to miss the opportunity to talk with him again. This session will be all about teens who can get really overwhelmed and might struggle to control impulsive behaviours, displaying anger or having emotional outbursts. There’s a lot of ground to cover and we really hope you'll join us if this is something affecting your family.
I have no doubt that it’s going to be a very interesting conversation. To access it and all of our expert sessions, you can subscribe for just £5 a month. 6 and 12 month memberships are also available at £30 and £50 respectively
A subscription not only gains entry into more than 30 LIVE webinars, but also access to our full on-demand library and you can find out how to subscribe HERE.