How can I help my highly sensitive child deal with bullies?

My child is bullied at school for being “overly sensitive.” How can I help her deal with bullying?

 
Answer: Bullies are notorious for targeting highly sensitive people, including children, whom they perceive as “different,” “weak,” or unable to stick up for themselves.

In my children’s book, The Highly Sensitive Rabbit, a caring young rabbit learns how to overcome the shaming she receives from her siblings when they call her “overly sensitive” and a crybaby. Instead of shaming children for being highly sensitive, their parents and teachers can support these abilities and help children understand them. This support can ignite their creativity and confidence.

Here are 5 techniques to teach your sensitive child how to deal with bullies:

1. Encourage them to tell someone they trust about bullying rather than keeping it a secret because they’re ashamed.
2. Teach a child how not to emotionally react to the bully’s tactics and, instead, stay calm (Bullies get meaner when someone cries or becomes emotional). Advise them to leave the situation as soon as possible.
3. Tell a child to stop expecting the bully to have empathy for them—that will never happen.
4. Emphasize to a child that their sensitivities are a gift and that there is nothing ‘wrong’ with them, like the bully says.
5. Teach a child how to scatter the crowd of onlookers by saying, “The bell’s going to ring soon. We have to get to class.”

Never tolerate anyone shaming or bullying your child. Stand up for them. Involve the school authorities to send the message that there is zero tolerance for bullying.

Reference: The Highly Sensitive Rabbit by Judith Orloff, MD and Jennifer Adams. Sounds True Inc, 2025