For many children heading into the new school year, making friends and getting good grades aren’t the only anxieties looming large in their minds. The fear of facing a bully all too often becomes an unwelcome reality.
That was the case for one Hillsboro, Wisconsin, boy whose mother, Heidi, described as a happy child, always singing at home. But then, at just 7 years old, he began to be bullied at school.
“Bullying really made his confidence go down,” Heidi said. “He started becoming quieter, not answering or participating in class. He eventually got to the point where he didn’t want to be at school. It made me sad.”
His experience is far from unique. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, more than one in five students between the ages of 12 and 18 reported being bullied during a recent school year. And in a national study by the Cyberbullying Research Center, nearly 21% of tweens said they had been a target, aggressor or witness to bullying online or by other electronic means.
As parents search for ways to protect their children, a growing number of families are turning to a surprising source for practical guidance: the Bible.
Heidi regularly shared verses with both of her children to show how “not returning evil for evil” and staying calm and mild — principles the family endeavors to live by as Jehovah’s Witnesses — can defuse a tense situation when encountering a bully. “It’s good to practice what to do if someone offers you drugs, but it’s just as important to teach them what to do if someone is saying cruel, unkind things to you,” she said.
The family also went to jw.org, the Witnesses’ official website, where a search for the term bullying brings up a wealth of free resources including videos, articles, worksheets and other online activities on topics young people face at school. Those resources include a whiteboard animation entitled “Beat a Bully Without Using Your Fists” and an animated cartoon about the powerful effect of prayer for those who are being bullied.
The support from Heidi and the tools on jw.org had a beneficial effect on her son, now 19. She said, eventually, “his confidence went up, and he just started shrugging his shoulders like, ‘I don’t care what you’re saying; it’s not going to knock me down.’”
Madison Bechtle of Clifton, New Jersey, also turned to the Scriptures when a cyberbully started harassing her in the eighth grade with dozens of disturbing notifications on her cellphone. “It was really crazy. He was sending me pictures of my house. I was really paranoid all the time,” she said.
Reading the Bible and praying calmed her anxiety. “It’s just you and God, and you’re just talking one-on-one,” she said. “It’s very comforting, and it works.”
She also followed the practical steps outlined in the jw.org whiteboard animation “Be Social-Network Smart” to protect herself. She told her parents and teachers about the situation and deleted the social media account her bully had targeted. “I still don’t have that account to this day,” said Madison, now 21.
“Not every situation resolves so easily. But applying the Bible’s advice and focusing on the big picture can help individuals cope and maintain their sense of self-worth,” said Robert Hendriks, U.S. spokesperson for Jehovah’s Witnesses.
“The Bible has proven to be a practical resource for many families to navigate difficult situations in life,” Hendriks said. “The principles found in this ancient book can help adults and children resolve conflict and maintain peaceful relationships with others.”
Heidi agreed, saying, principles like the so-called Golden Rule of treating others as you’d want to be treated, showing love and being slow to anger, as well as the Bible-based resources on the jw.org website, have helped her family in many circumstances.
“I can’t say enough about the website,” she said. “There’s so much advice that can benefit kids and parents, information they can trust and try for themselves and see that it works.”