Episode 15

“Battling Bullying with Kindness”
with Dr. Charlotte Keating

Photo of podcast guest Dr Charlotte Keating

Dr. Charlotte Keating (Clinical Psychologist, Director of the Alannah & Madeline Foundation and Advisory Board Member for Dolly’s Dream Foundation)
@drcharlottekeating

The definition of bullying is – ‘Behaviour which causes harm or hurt and is done deliberately and repeatedly’. A person being bullied may feel intimidated, helpless, or unable to stop it happening. The word bullying alone, has such a negative and triggering effect, and as a parent, stings. Whether your child is labelled the bully, or is believed to be bullied, it’s a situation you want to do everything to try and avoid.

So we speak with Dr. Charlotte Keating, a Clinical Psychologist with a Neuroscience PhD, renowned media profile, Director of the Alannah Madeline Foundation and on the Advisory Board of Dolly’s Dream.

Dr. Charlotte Keating is a woman that has for the majority, dedicated her life’s work to children and teen psychology, and helps us understand in a post covid, social media frenzied, fast pace world, what we need to understand and focus on, to avoid at all costs, being a family effected by bullying and how practicing kindness and compassion should be at the forefront.

“What we do know is, a large proportion of children who do bully have themselves been bullied.”

TIPS MENTIONED

Statistics are 1 in 4 people have experienced bullying and 1 in 5 people have experienced cyber bullying.

Learning indicators your child is having a hard time at school:

Change in confidence levels
Difficulties getting them to school
Socially withdrawn and not playing with the friends they have typically played with
Their mood and irritability, possible more reactive than usual at home
Sleeping problems, more bad dreams than usual
Appetite may change
An unwillingness to talk about school

If your concerned for your child, here are some helpful steps you can take:

Allow a calm and safe space for them to explain to you everything that has happened, holding back your reactions and comments, so you can understand first.
Once they have done sharing with you, reiterate to your child that they have absolutely done the right thing by sharing this information with you. And then, show empathy to comfort them in how they are feeling.
From there, don’t go directly to the parent/s involved. Go through the school or kinder. Schools have to have a bullying policy, so work with the school to take those steps together!

RESOURCES

Dr. Keating’s Instagram

Alanna & Madeline Foundation Website

Dolly’s Dream Foundation Website

Helpful Resources Mentioned

Common Sense Media
Common Sense Media is the nation's leading nonprofit organization that offers entertainment and technology recommendations for families with trustworthy information, education to thrive in the 21st century.

Family Tech Plan – Dolly’s Dream