Strategies for Recognizing and Responding to Them

Signe Whitson

Young people who bully often master the art of blending in with the crowd, flying under an adult’s radar and wreaking havoc in subtle ways. In fact, many socially aggressive kids actually top an adult’s “what a nice kid!” list and make their way into their victims’ inner circle before revealing their true intentions. Blink and even the most astute observer may miss the child’s hostile actions the first few times around. This workshop will provide information, activity ideas, and clear-cut strategies for what adults can do to understand and change relational bullying in schools, treatment programs, communities, and families. You’ll explore:

• Strategies for building social-emotional competence in kids, including building empathy and compassion as “antidotes” to relational bullying
• Information and advice for cultivating digital citizenship and dealing with cyberbullying
• Specific wording to use for stopping bullying whenever it’s observed directly

Signe Whitson, LSW, C-SSWS, is a certified school social work specialist, international educator on bullying prevention, and author of four books on the topic of bringing an end to bullying, including the just released 8 Keys to End Bullying Activity Book and Companion Guide and Friendship & Other Weapons: Group Activities to Help Young Girls Cope with Bullying.