Families given anti-bullying guide

Parents whose children are being bullied at school must listen carefully to their problems before they act, a booklet launched today will warn.

The publication will offer families advice on how to prevent or manage bullying and detail the tell-tale signs showing a child has become a victim.

Dr Maria Lawlor said: “While it is very unlikely that bullying will ever be completely eradicated, there is much parents can do to prevent it happening and to manage it where it has already occurred.”

The consultant with the North Eastern Health Board (NEHB) said: “It is a difficult thing to hear that your child is being bullied, where they are supposed to be looked after and safe. That someone is systematically trying to upset them and they often don’t know the best way to go about it.”

Brian Lenihan, Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, will launch the book today which is the third in a series of publications from the NEHB dedicated to combating bullying.

Recent studies in Ireland revealed that a survey of 3,000 secondary school students showed around 15% suffered bullying while at school.

Dr Lawlor said out of the schools in their region around 21% of second year students, or one in five, had admitted to being bullied.

She said statistics showed that one in 20 were being persistently bullied.

Dr Lawlor said some children can end up seeking psychiatric help after being consistently bullied and threatened.

“Some can be very difficult and take a long time to resolve,” Dr Lawlor said.

The €10 booklet Bullying in Secondary School: What Parents Need to Know will offer parents suggestions on how to communicate effectively with teachers, schools and their own children.

Dr Lawlor said: “If a parent is told by their child, they should listen and be sympathetic and look for all the details about what happened. Such as how long it has been going on for.

“Only then do they approach the school and ask them to do something about it and get them to commit to a guarantee that it won‘t happen again.”

She added: “Often the problem can be entrenched by the time the parents are told.”

The health board‘s Cool School Programme, which has been running for four years, have worked to combat bullying with teachers in over 80% of the 56 secondary schools in the region.

Dr Lawlor said the atmosphere the teachers create in the school was very important.