Bullying and Gifted Children
Karen Fryer, Teresa Olson, Diann Eakin, Katharine Rule
Bullying Statistic
According to the PTA, only 50% of parents surveyed said they view bullying as a problem. In contrast, 75% of children stated they have experienced bullying during their school career.
What is Bullying?
Bullying is a situation that involves an imbalance of power with repetitive unfavorable actions directed towards another person. This has a major impact upon gifted students, because they are aware that they are different. They also tend to be highly sensitive.
How Bullying Impacts Your Gifted Child.
- They see their academic gifts as flaws.
- Some children may hide their giftedness.
- They might try to fix the situation, rather than seeking help.
- Bullied children will become self-critical and feel that if they were more "perfect" they might be able to prevent the bullying.
- Some students lose interest in school. They might not see a point in working hard in school, as this only brings them more trouble.
Help Your Gifted Student Tackle Bullying
Making Contact With Your Child's School
- Don't be afraid to contact your child's school. Set up an open line of communication between teachers, counselors, and yourself
- Schedule a meeting to check on your child's social development.
- Come with a plan. Be prepared to ask questions and possibly provide solutions.
Strategies That Will Empower Your Child
- Recognize your child's personal successes.
- Emphasize their strengths and talents.
- Develop an awareness of personal strengths and weaknesses.
- Bibliotherapy- Provide books with strong characters that work through personal struggles.
- Assist your child in finding peers with similar interests.
- Contact your child's school counselor for suggestions on Mentoring Programs.
Strategies for Teaching Social Intelligence
- Set a good example for appropriate social interaction in the home.
- Discuss with your child the way the social world works. and the way people interact with each other.
- Teach ways to manage stress.
- Arrange for your child to attend nonacademic activities. ie... Lacrosse, soccer, chess club
- Model adaptive behaviors.
- Model how to react when peers tease, name call, or bully. Also, model when to seek help.
Additional Information
Teasing and Gifted Children
http://sengifted.org/archives/articles/teasing-and-gifted-children
Gifted and Bullied
http://summitcenter.us/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/GiftedandBullied_GEC_Spr2012.pdf