5 daily habits to help stop bullying

The stats are well-known. Seventy-seven percent of school-age kids are bullied, yet only 10 percent tell their parents about it, and even fewer tell their parents that they bully or stand by and watch, according to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. Is bullying just something kids have to outgrow or can parents and teachers step in to help?

Roberta Richin, executive director of the Council for Prejudice Reduction at the School of Social Welfare, Stony Brook University Health Sciences Center in Stony Brook, suggests parents play a daily, active role in helping their kids who are bullied or who bully. "The idea is to make helpfulness a habit," said Richin. "I like to call it RICE: Respect, Impulse-Control, Compassion and Equity or the Connecting Character to Conduct. Your children may roll their eyes or laugh at you for reading another article or going to a workshop, but they are paying close attention to what you do and what you expect them to do."

Just like anything, it can take time and patience to learn how to be intentionally helpful instead of hurtful. "It's a little like learning how to brush your teeth," Richin said. "Like plaque on our teeth, hurt feelings and anger can build up every day. It helps to manage bad feelings each day through family routines that build communication, establish positive expectations, resolve conflicts and help young people practice how to use RICE to handle strong feelings in a positive way."

Here are five things you can do daily to incorporate the RICE strategy into your family's routine: