MY DAUGHTER’S BEING BULLIED BY OTHER GIRLS

Dear Coleen

I’m very upset because my nineyear-old daughter is being picked on at school. There’s one girl in particular, but a few others have joined in and my daughter is tearful.

The teacher is trying to sort it out, but it’s not really helping. I haven’t said anything to the parents involved because school should deal with it, but maybe I should. I don’t want to put people’s backs up and make things worse for my daughter.

Coleen says

I went through this when my daughter was younger and it’s so hard. You feel helpless and so worried. And angry, too. I think unless you’re friends with the parents involved, you should leave it to school to sort. If you approach the parents, they’ll probably just defend their daughters. It sounds as if the school knows what’s going on and I imagine these parents have already been spoken to.

The ages of eight and nine are often when bullying behaviour kicks off, but schools are good these days at dealing with it.

I think it’s important to let your daughter know she has support from teachers. And tell her to stick with her friends who support her.

I know it’s hard to explain to a nine-year-old that ignoring it is best. But bullies move on quickly if they’re not getting anywhere.

I was bullied terribly at school because my older sisters were The Nolans. I’d say: “Yeah, they are an embarrassment”, and the bullies had nowhere to go with that.

Hopefully, her school has it in hand and you can start to build up your daughter’s confidence away from school.