Dealing with Bullying in School Age Children – Handling a Fight

When you witness hitting in the classroom you have to do something. The first thing, however, is to determine whether the children are having a play fight or a real fight.

If it is a play fight, do not panic. There is no real aggression, and the chance of injury is low. Walk over and calmly tell them that this activity is not permitted and they must stop. When you intervene, they may try to blame each other for the fighting. Let them know you are not interested in the blame and no one is getting punished. They just need to stop because rough-housing is not permitted.

If the fight is a real fight, then it needs to be stopped as quickly as possible. If this physical form of bullying in school age children is not something you can handle yourself, ensure that you call security. Once the fight is over, do not play judge. Why they were fighting is not important and you are not looking to take sides. All that matters is that the children were hurting one another, and this is forbidden.

Whoever is guilty of hurting another child should be disciplined, and the motive is irrelevant. The precise method of discipline should follow the organization’s policy. Most organisations have a rigid policy on physical bullying in school age children.

How would you handle a fight in your classroom?

From Professional Learning Board’s online continuing education course for teachers: Bullying: The Golden Rule Solution