Taking steps to prevent violence at school is not merely the responsibility of students and staff. Parents can foster a safe school environment by talking to their children early and often about mental health, violence, and healthy relationships. This blog post explores the strategies to prevent school violence and the steps parents can take.
School Violence Takes on Many Forms
The topic of school violence often invokes thoughts of physical violence or students who bring weapons to campus. School violence does not always occur in physical form.
Some forms of school violence include:
- Physical violence
- Psychological violence
- Sexual violence
- Bullying
- Cyberbullying
It is essential to understand violence takes on different forms. By definition, violence includes physical force and can consist of a heated or forceful expression, confrontation, or vocabulary in written or text form.
Understanding the Warning Signs
Kids often act out in violence as a way to solve their problems. Noticing early warning signs that indicate your child is struggling is crucial for many reasons. Changes and behavior can precede violence in some children but can also alert parents to other underlying issues of concern. Being attentive and mindful of your child’s standard behavior patterns will help you notice when changes occur.
Some warning signs that indicate your child is struggling may include:
- Social withdrawal.
- Declining academic performance.
- Loss of interest in activities.
- Sleep problems.
- I am eating issues like loss of appetite, refusing to eat, or binge eating.
- Lying or evasive behavior.
- Frequent complaints of physical ailments.
Encouraging Healthy Relationships
Parents play a pivotal role in fostering and nurturing healthy relationships between parent and child, child and other safe adults in life, friendships, and family members. All positive, healthy relationships are essential in helping children feel safe, heard, and seen in life.
Open communication is the starting point in fostering healthy relationships. Creating a safe space where your children see and learn empathy, beneficial conflict resolution, and a willingness to understand different perspectives is vital for children.
As they see you model healthy relationship skills, they will learn, and you will have opportunities to teach them important lessons about peaceful conflict resolution and listening to others – while feeling seen and heard themselves.
Building a Supportive Home Environment
Being intentional about building a supportive home environment for your children will significantly impact them during their school years and beyond. A home environment centered around open communication, love, respect, cooperation, and quality time will help build a positive, supportive environment where children feel safe and connected.
Nurturing mental health and wellbeing at home can also include your physical environment. Spotless does not equal supportive, but an orderly climate fosters a healthy mind and spirit.
Your supportive home environment will be the place where your children can have the courage to share their feelings and the challenges they may be facing. As discussions open or if you notice warning signs that your child is struggling, it is critical to approach topics like cyberbullying and online threats. Teaching children how to navigate their online activity safely takes patience and the ability to listen without judgment.
Involvement in School Activities & Anti-Bullying Initiatives
You can show your children your commitment to them and their friends by participating in school activities and anti-bullying initiatives. Parent-teacher associations attending school meetings and events will help you connect with teachers and school staff and help you get to know other students and parents. Parents can significantly impact a school community and their children by volunteering in school programs and supporting anti-bullying campaigns.
Recognizing Mental Health Issues
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reports one in five children, including adolescents, have a diagnosable mental, emotional, or behavioral disorder. Many of these children remain unseen and untreated.
Mental health issues are related to serious school violence. Parents can take steps first to recognize when children are struggling, destigmatizing discussions surrounding mental health and ensuring their kids receive professional mental health care when needed.
Fostering Inclusivity and Acceptance
Embracing diversity at home sets a powerful example for children. Encouraging tolerance and acceptance by openly addressing potential biases creates a setting for open dialogue about feelings and attitudes about people and situations. A culture of inclusiveness starts with facing any biases held—known or unknown.
Unconscious bias can develop at an early age and permeate through the stages of life through learned attitudes or stereotypes. While gender bias or beauty bias may be more complex to detect, race bias may try to hide but be more straightforward to uncover. Promoting a culture of inclusivity and respect starts at home and with addressing our own biases as parents.
Support for Stepdads
Responsibility extends beyond the school when it comes to avoiding school violence. Parents are on the front lines as pivotal influences in their children’s lives. When parents take the initiative to foster a safe and supportive environment for their children through open conversations, empathy, and addressing potential challenges, it lays a foundation for a healthier, safer environment at home and school.
Check out the Support for Stepdads blog for more informative and encouraging posts!
https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1570616969692-54d6ba3d0397?q=80&w=2922&auto=format&fit=crop&ixlib=rb-4.0.3&ixid=M3wxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8fA%3D%3D
