How to help children being bullied by a coach, teacher, or other authority figure
to blame for what the adult did to them, nor are they to blame for the adult's loss of position or reputation.
Children and youth can be supported in unpacking conflicted feelings like having a"loyalty-bind" to the one who abused them. They can learn that their training throughout to respect and obey adults may have led them into a destructive situation due to an untrustworthy, bullying adult.To support children and youth in understanding the negative impact of all forms of bullying and abuse, they need to learn how the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems work. The lessons on these systems and why they function the way they do can gain in complexity along with the age and stage of the children.
They need to know that it is also possible to purposefully tilt up their parasympathetic system, their"rest and digest" system, in order to calm their stress levels, lower their stress hormones, relax, and rejuvenate. Parents, teachers, and coaches can empower children to activate their rest and digest system when they are safe., and brain-training are all evidence-based ways to prevent the stress that comes from having been bullied.
Children can learn to deconstruct negative reactions and anticipations that bullying may have built within them. They can be taught to assign thoughtful “