Easing the Teasing

Finally, the tools you need to help your child learn to cope with painful teasing

Traditionally, teasing was viewed as a rite of passage, something to ignore until (you hope) it just went away on its own. But teasing can have damaging and lasting effects on your child, including low self-esteem, chronic stress, anxiety, dislike of school, or even aggressive behavior. Children need concrete ways to cope with teasers and the emotional turmoil teasing can cause. In Easing the Teasing, Judy Freedman draws from seventeen years of experience as a social worker in a suburban Chicago school system. Her groundbreaking program successfully teaches children and parents how to effectively deal with teasing and develop life-long coping skills. Here you will learn:

• The roots of teasing and why some children engage in this behavior
• How to talk to your child to find out why he or she is being teased
• The ten strategies for dealing with teasers that really work, including self-talk, ignoring, visualization, reframing the tease, disarming the teaser with a compliment, and using humor to lighten up the situation
• How you can work with the school and teachers to combat teasing
• How to help your child form healthy friendships and foster empathy and mutual support

Full of reassuring advice and real-life success stories from children and parents, Easing the Teasing shows parents how to give their children the confidence and self-esteem they need to put an end to teasing.

A school social worker provides this crucial reference for parents and educators who want to help teasing victims acquire the coping skills necessary to manage these painful incidents. This guide offers elementary and junior high school kids with a repertoire of strategies to deflect and discourage teasing and how to control their own actions.

Empowers young children with vital coping skills to help them manage teasing Easing the Teasing is a crucial reference for parents and educators who want to help teasing victims acquire the coping skills necessary to manage these painful incidents. Easing the Teasing provides elementary and junior high school kids with a repertoire of strategies to deflect and discourage teasing--including positive self-talk; ignoring; visualization; reframing the tease; complimenting or agreeing with the teaser; using humor; simply saying, "So?"; and asking adults for help.

Judy Freedman, M.S.W., L.C.S.W., is a school social worker who offers her successful Easing the Teasing® program in presentations and workshops to parents, teachers, and other educational professionals. She has been featured in the Chicago Tribune as well as in other publications and has appeared on NBC and other national media to comment on school violence.