`Bullies: Fighting Back` - Talking to Kids About Dealing with Bullies | Video

Retha Colclasure | 2/10/2011

Some schools and police departments are working together to cut down on bullying. School resource officers at the Mandan Police Department have been talking with students about bullying for years.

And after a bullying presentation at Lewis and Clark Elementary School, kids say they came away with some effective tools to fight back.

Fighting a bully doesn`t mean punching back. Sometimes it just means walking away.

These fifth-graders at Lewis and Clark Elementary School might be in for some rough years ahead.

They`re getting ready for middle school; the time in a kid`s life when bullying might be the worst.

"Eighth-graders, seventh-graders, we`re the little sixth-graders," said fifth-grader Michael Ziemann.

They know that bullying isn`t right, but they might not know the best ways to keep from being a victim. That`s where Heidi Schuchard comes in.

"We talk to them about what a bully is, what a bully does and also how they can help stop a bully, and who they need to talk to if someone is bullying them," said Schuchard, Mandan Police Youth Division.

She gives them some tools to use if they`re bullied, like pretending the bully doesn`t bother you or just getting up and walking away.

Schuchard said, "It gives them five different examples of a way a kid might bully them, and five different ways they can not be a victim and how they can help stop that bully."

And the message is hitting home.

"Some bullies, they can boss you around and be mean, and sometimes you just have to ignore them," explained fifth-grader Malanda Althoff.

They also talk about telling a parent or teacher if they`re bullied. Often, kids are too scared to tell because they think it will just make the situation worse.

But these kinds of conversations get the kids thinking about what really might happen.

"It helps them to see it`s OK, and we`re here to help them," said Schuchard.

She says this kind of discussion also helps kids who are doing the bullying realize what effects their actions might have on others.

Schuchard says these presentations help kids look out for bullies, to help stand up for their friends, and to make sure they know it`s OK to tell an adult when somebody`s bullying them.

COMMENT ON THIS STORY

BACK TO NEWS | BACK TO REGIONAL STORIES