How to Take Action to Prevent School Violence

Become aware of family risk factors. There are many factors that occur within the family unit that can increase the likelihood of a young person becoming violent. If you recognize these risk factors within your own family, you must work to change them. When you recognize these risk factors in another family, understand that the young people in that household may benefit from additional support, guidance, or therapy to prevent violent outcomes.^[4] These factors can include:

• Highly authoritarian child-rearing attitudes
• Lax, harsh, or very inconsistent boundaries and disciplinary practices
• Low educational and income levels of parents
• Parental substance abuse and criminality

Talk openly. Create an atmosphere of open and honest communication with your children or students. Give them the space to work out their views, and encourage them to express their feelings, desires, hopes, and dreams. Spend time talking about interpersonal relationships and ask them to express the expectations they have for the relationships in their lives.

Understand the reasons for violence. Although there is never a simple or clear-cut answer for why an individual becomes violent, most violent actions (by both children and adults) occur for one or more of the following reasons. By better understanding these, you may be better equipped to talk down a violent person, or better yet, to stop violence before it starts.^[5]

• Expression: Many people use violence to express feelings of anger or frustration.
• Manipulation: Violence is often used to control others.
• Retaliation: Violence comes into play when someone wants to retaliate against someone who has hurt them, or to seek some kind of revenge.

Pay attention. One crucial element to preventing school violence is simply to pay attention (which is far easier said than done). Even older kids need important and focused face-time with their parents and teachers, even if they don’t seem to desire or enjoy it. Just showing up for your children or students and investing time in getting to know their likes and dislikes can go far in reducing tendencies toward school violence.

Set clear boundaries and honor them. Children thrive when they understand the boundaries set for them. Conversely, if the rules and boundaries are always changing, this can cause stress in children and young adults. Whether you are a parent or educator, take some time to determine the boundaries you’d like to set. Then make these rules explicit and clear, and honor them. Outline the consequences for violating said boundaries, and honor these consequences too.^[6]

Recognize the warning signs. Notice any sudden changes or disruptions in your child or student’s behavior. (You can best evaluate this if you are clear on what is “normal” for the child.) Such changes might include withdrawal from family or friends, no longer participating in sports or activities the child had seemed to enjoy, a drop in grades, trouble sleeping, trouble eating, lying, and/or chronic physical ailments (stomachache or headaches). These changes can indicate that something is really troubling your child. If you encounter these signs, begin by talking to your child and possibly seeking some outside help.^[7] Other more drastic (and more pressing) signs may include:

• Engaging in risky activity, such as recreational drugs, tobacco, sex, alcohol.
• Harboring a destructive mood; hurting animals, destroying property and/or making threats or bullying.
• Obsessing on suicide and death; showing interest for weapons or violence in writing, drawing or conversations
• Any of these may also be signs of anxiety, depression, or another mental health issue. If you notice several of these signs, it is likely best for that young person to get some help.

Keep firearms away from children and young adults. A 2006 survey of gun-owning Americans with children showed that 21.7% stored a gun loaded, 31.5% stored a gun unlocked, and 8.3% stored one or more guns unlocked and loaded. Additionally, in households with teenagers (ages 13 to 17), firearms were left unlocked 41.7% of the time. One of the best way to prevent your child or adolescent from harming themselves or someone else with a firearm is to keep it locked in a safe, with an additional cable lock. Or better yet, to keep guns out of your home.^[8]

Know when to intervene. If you are a parent or educator, it is important for you to be able to intervene when you notice a child exhibiting behavior that could potentially harm others. Do you know or have you heard of any students using threatening language? Have you seen or heard of anyone bringing weapons (or threatening to bring weapons) to school? If so, immediately report them to a school administrator or directly to the police, and encourage your children or students to do the same.^[9]

Get involved. One of the best ways you can work to prevent violence in schools is getting involved. This may mean joining the PTA at your child’s school, coaching a sports team, or organizing a community event. The better you are able to get to know your child (as well as the other children around them), and build a sense of community, the less likely violence is to occur.^[10]

Encourage young people to speak up. You can help prevent violence in schools by encouraging young people to speak up when they see or hear something that’s not OK. Some students may not want to get involved, but explain that by conveying information through safe channels, they may be able to prevent a serious threat of violence.

Understand the risks young people face. Children and young adults today face a number of stressors that many adults are not fully aware of. The pressures of social media, substance abuse, dating and sex, and bullying can weigh heavily on young people. The pressure to succeed in school can also overwhelm young people. Becoming aware of the sources of stress in the lives of your children or students can make you a better advocate and source of support when they need you.