Bullying: it's a four-letter word in most parenting circles. The thought of your child getting bullied is terrifying for most parents. Unfortunately, most kids will encounter it at least a couple of times in their lives. For us, it happened at the tender age of 3, when one of our daughter's friends turned into her bully.
Despite this, our daughter still wanted to be friends with her bully. She thought if she gave her more hugs, painted her a picture or sang a song for the bully's mother she could fix the problem. Day after day, we watched her come home wondering why her friend wouldn't change and be nice to her again.
Eventually, we had to teach her that not everyone is going to like her and that she can't change other people. It wasn't an enjoyable thing to explain, but luckily, we were able to do it with the help of her favorite movie, Frozen.
So, if your kid is being excluded or bullied, turn on the Frozen soundtrack for the millionth time and use these tips to help your child understand this unpleasant part of life.
1. The Bully is the Elsa. Your child is Anna
This is the hardest part. After hearing about or watching another child be mean to your child, the last thing you want to do is compare said child to one of the coolest Disney characters ever created! But show your child how to rise above by letting her bully play the role of Elsa in this scenario.
2. Don't Take the Bullying Personally
Elsa isn't excluding Anna because of anything having to do with Anna. Anna rocks. Elsa is insecure about her powers and shuts Anna out because she doesn't know how else to handle them. Talk with your child about some of the things they are good at and help them see that the bullying has nothing to do with them or their self worth.
3. You can't Change Other People
Anna tries her best get Elsa to play with her, but there is nothing she can do to change her sister. Elsa has to find a way to control her powers on her own.
After re-listening to "Do you want to Build a Snowman" for the billionth time, here's the good news: your child isn't Anna and therefore does not live in a castle locked away from other children. Ask your child if there are any kids they would like to play with and schedule play dates with those kids. And who knows? Maybe in a couple of weeks your child will have a hand full of new buddies and you will be able to look at this whole ordeal as a necessary learning experience that expanded your child's social circle.
This was originally posted on PoopPeePuke.com