Supporting the mental health of children who have engaged in bullying
Welcome!
Unfortunately, it’s common for children to experience bullying and to engage in bullying behaviour during childhood. But, when children receive support from adults who understand their experience and know how to respond in helpful ways they can navigate through it. They can even build skills and resilience to support their mental health and wellbeing into the future.
This pathway is for parents and carers of children who have engaged in bullying behaviours of any type. It explains how engaging in bullying can affect children, their daily life and other family members. Importantly, it offers ways parents can support children to address bullying and have positive relationships – and mental health.
The guidance and strategies in this pathway are most appropriate for supporting primary school-aged children (around 6 to 12 years old) who have engaged in bullying.
Younger children can do and say things that hurt or upset another child, but they generally don’t intend to cause harm or target a particular child, so it’s not considered bullying.
The types of bullying that older children and adolescents (12+) engage in, and possible impacts of those, are different and more complex. If you have a young person (aged 12 years or older) who has engaged in bullying you may still find some of the strategies helpful in supporting them. But this pathway does not address the complexities that come with adolescent bullying, and the examples and conversation starters are targeted to primary school-aged children.
This pathway is based on the latest evidence about what protects and supports children’s mental health and wellbeing. It was developed with help from:
families of children who have engaged in bullying
health professionals, educators and other practitioners who support children involved in bullying and their parents.