Selected reading

Bullyproof Your Child for Life

Bullyproof Your Child for Life by Joel Haber, PhD is a parenting guide on preventative measures of childhood bullying. Written by a clinical psychologist who is a leader in the field of the prevention of abusive behaviors, this parenting book begins with providing extensive information on the potential sources of taunting, teasing, and bullying behaviors. Detailed descriptions of classes of bullying behaviors and bullying targets are discussed to give background to the researcher’s program.  Following this discussion, the majority of the book describes an established, practical agenda for parents to help their children with this serious social issue.  

Haber’s “bullyproofing prescription” is a three-step process of 1)identifying the bullying problem, 2)creating a plan of action in case of crisis, and 3) maintaining communication and social development in case of future incidents. There are successive, topical chapters which act as “bullyproofing” guides for school, sports, camp, and technology use. These include helpful overviews of social issues, roles, and explanations, anecdotes, tips and checklists, and suggested solutions.  

Bullyproof Your Child for Life is a thorough handbook of tools and strategies for parents and their children to help solve this highly common and difficult problem with confidence, collaboration, and success.