Watching your child be excluded, targeted, or hurt is devastating. You want to protect them, but you also don’t want to make things worse. Many parents would gladly take their child’s place just to spare them the pain.

In this episode, I’ll help you better understand what bullying is, and what it isn’t.

We’ll look at the difference between bullying and social aggression, how bullying shows up differently in boys and girls, and what steps you can take to support your child if you think they’re being bullied.

You’ll also learn when it’s time to step in and advocate on their behalf, and how to take care of yourself in the process, because this experience impacts parents deeply too.

And if you’ve ever dealt with socially aggressive adults in your own life, these insights may support you as well.

Jennifer's Takeaways:

• Understanding Bullying and Social Aggression (00:00)
• Differences Between Boys and Girls in Bullying (06:22)
• Recognizing and Addressing Bullying (21:17)
• Strategies for Parents to Support Their Children (22:40)
• The Importance of Empathy and Connection (22:56)
• Role of Schools and Advocacy (23:10)
• Long-Term Effects of Bullying (29:30)
• Supporting Children with Social Skills (30:01)
• The Role of Empowerment and Accountability (33:46)
• Balancing Empowerment and Support (34:30)

Meet Jennifer Kolari

Jennifer Kolari is the host of the “Connected Parenting” weekly podcast and the co-host of “The Mental Health Comedy” podcast. Kolari is a frequent guest on Nationwide morning shows and podcasts in the US and Canada. Her advice can also be found in many Canadian and US magazines such as; Today’s Parent, Parents Magazine and Canadian Family.

Kolari’s powerful parenting model is based on the neurobiology of love, teaching parents how to use compassion and empathy as powerful medicine to transform challenging behavior and build children’s emotional resilience and emotional shock absorbers.

Jennifer’s wisdom, quick wit and down to earth style help parents navigate modern-day parenting problems, offering real-life examples as well as practical and effective tools and strategies.

Her highly entertaining, inspiring workshops are shared with warmth and humour, making her a crowd-pleasing speaker with schools, medical professionals, corporations and agencies throughout North America, Europe and Asia.

One of the nation’s leading parenting experts, Jennifer Kolari, is a highly sought- after international speaker and the founder of Connected Parenting. A child and family therapist with a busy practice based in San Diego and Toronto, Kolari is also the author of Connected Parenting: How to Raise A Great Kid (Penguin Group USA and Penguin Canada, 2009) and You’re Ruining My Life! (But Not Really): Surviving the Teenage Years with Connected Parenting (Penguin Canada, 2011).