An Important Conversation To Have With Your Child
Posted: May 17, 2019
By Master Christopher Rappold
I hope the school year is off to a great start for you and your children. No matter how good it is going, it is likely there will come a point when you are going to need to coach your child through a tough decision. As many parents know, children and teens often times use the word “tattling” or “snitching to describe anyone telling an authority figure about any type of situation that occurred. Many times, instead of going to an adult, they simply keep what has happened a secret because they fear being made fun of or looked down on. The challenge is, without an interruption in the pattern of the bullying and the intervention from someone in a position of power, more than likely, it will continue.
To encourage children and teens to report bullying behavior when it happens, it is important to help them see clearly the difference between the two words.
Tattling / snitching is when a child sees another child doing something that has nothing to do with him or another classmate and decides to tell a teacher for the personal enjoyment of watching the child get in trouble. It is actually a subtle form of bullying.
Reporting is when a child takes a stand against someone who is intentionally being disrespectful to himself or someone else and lets a teacher or adult immediately when it happens. By reporting bullying behavior, it shows that your child has strong self-respect and caring for other classmates.
Principals and teachers are only in the position to help if they are told immediately what has happened and who was involved. Remember, most bullying is done cleverly in a way that makes it very difficult to be seen or heard. Only when behavior is reported are the teachers able to use their professional judgment to determine corrective action. By clearly defining the difference in your child’s mind between tattling and reporting, you will be doing your part to help all of the children enjoy school and be safe from negative behavior.
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