Understanding Child Care

Lessons To Teach Your Child About Bullying Before The Start Of Daycare

22 November 2016

Victoria Jimenez

When a child goes off to daycare, he or she will soon be surrounded by a new peer group. Ideally, your child will fit in easily with the other youngsters in the child care center and make a group of friends. You want to be sure that your child doesn't engage in any bullying; even if a child doesn't show signs of bullying at home, he or she may develop this behavior when dealing with children at the daycare. Daycare staff members are quick to deal with bullying, often by alerting children's parents to the problem. You can avoid this phone call by teaching your child these important lessons before the start of daycare.

Some Children Are Different

If your child hasn't previously been exposed to a large group of other children, he or she may be surprised at how some kids are different. Those who are different can often be targeted by bullies, so it's important to teach your child that certain other children at the daycare may look differently, talk differently, and even act differently, but they likely share many similarities with your child, too. Try to impress upon your child that other children who are different can be fun to become friends with. In many cases, a visit to the library can yield a children's book with this sort of message that you can read to your child.

The Golden Rule Is Key

Children who are heading to daycare are often old enough to learn the premise of the golden rule. The idea of treating other children in a way that your child would wish to be treated is something that you can discuss and practice at home. For example, if your child is tempted to avoid playing with a certain child at daycare, talk to your child about he or she might feel if a group of children ostracized him or her. Children will be able to identify that this situation wouldn't make them feel very good.

Bullying Doesn't Feel Good

It's important to teach your child the lesson that bullying doesn't feel good in the long run. While making a joke about another child might initially yield laughs or acceptance from a group, acting in this manner can manifest feelings of guilt, as well as lead to discipline at the daycare and at home. You should try to teach your child to think before acting in a bullying manner; holding off acting inappropriately will feel better in the long run.

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