Psychotherapist, public speaker and writer, Stella O'Malley has spent years counselling bullies and targets.
Stella says parents can use specific strategies to empower children and teenagers to deal confidently with bullying and dominant characters.
Stella says her common-sense approach will help your child, tween or teen to develop their emotional intelligence and provide relief for families navigating the rapidly changing social environment, both online and in school.
The psychotherapist says there are a multitude of strategies to help tackle bullying - for both the parent and the younger person.
Stella joined Alison Curtis on WEekend Breakfast who was very intrigued by her insight.
Stella highlighted the main issues involved in the process of bullying, as her and Alison discussed things like,
- How to define bullying? What actually makes one a bully and where does it stem from?
- Who are the most likely victims - or is there such a thing?
- What are the signs of bullying? How can you detect if your child is having issues with a bully, or actually doing it to others themselves?
- What are the best ways to challenge bullying in school?
Throughout the conversation the two ladies touched on some key elements and phrases - phrases such as 'boxing smart', 'circle of support', being a 'polite nuisance' and 'If it's mean, intervene'.
Overall, we need to educate society on how to accept our differences, and equip youngsters with the correct tools to address concerns as they happen.
There wasn't enough time to ask all the listener's questions during the show, so Stella stayed on afterwords to answer them all #respect
Have a listen in full here:
"Bully-Proof Kids" is available in all top bookstores now, and we cannot advise it enough!
