When it comes to teaching kids about bullying, it's important to talk about kindness and what makes a good friend. You might also need to teach them how to advocate for themselves or how to ask for help. Or talk about individual differences, diversity, school rules, and how to create safe environments, both at school and at home.
Needless to say, there are lot of other topics that go hand-in-hand with bullying that need to be discussed. It goes beyond just talking about why kids might say or do mean things and what you can do to make things better.
But, if you're simply looking for the basics of introducing bullying to kids, then these free social stories about bullying might be just what you need.
The following stories discuss what bullying is and what you can do if you're being bullied. They even touch on anti-bullying days such as Pink Shirt Day, which is a thing here in Canada. I'm not sure if other places in the world do Pink Shirt Day or not, but I've included them here anyway.
Free Social Stories About Bullying for Kids
Have you been looking for a social story that talks about bullying behaviors or what to do when kids (or even adults!) say hurtful things? Then look no further than these free printable social stories about bullying. Some require you to have a Teachers Pay Teachers account (which is free!) before you can download them.
I've rounded up some options for you to explore. That way you can find the best stealing social story for you and your child. Or you can simply use ideas from the different stories below to write your own custom story (free social story templates here to help).
Please note that just because a social story is listed here does not mean I endorse its content. After all, many social stories tend to be poorly written and/or teach autistic masking. Besides, I haven't read all of these stories word for word myself. So please read through the stories carefully before using them with your child.
1. Two Printable Social Stories About Bullying from Happy Learners - These stories are text only and include no pictures. The topics are "Being Bullied" and "Bullying Others."
2. Editable Social Story About Bullies from Good Human Project on TPT - Here's a one page social story with clipart about bullies. It's available as a PDF, as well as editable versions for Google Slides and PowerPoint.
3. Bullying Social Story: What Can I Do? from Speech Buddy Sensations on TPT - A 6 page story with colorful (and pretty random) clipart. Even Mario and Wario make an appearance in this story.
4. Bullying Social Story from ASERT - This story uses clipart and simple text to outline different strategies for dealing with a bully.
5. Pink Shirt Day (English) from Social Stories 4 Kids on TPT - This story explains what Pink Shirt Day, which is an Anti-Bullying Day held every February in Canada (maybe elsewhere as well?).
6. La Journée du Chandail Rose (French) from Social Stories 4 Kids on TPT - Same story as above, but this time in French. It again talks about the Anti-Bullying Day called Pink Shirt Day.
Video Social Stories About Bullying
Here are a couple of video social stories that explore and teach kids about bullying behaviors. You can use these in teletherapy sessions, social skills groups, and/or classroom settings. Videos are always a great alternative to printing off a story.
Like the stories above, some of the wording in these videos aren't always great. But I wanted to make sure you had lots of different options for discussing and teaching about stealing and respecting personal property.
There are lots of other great bullying resources out there that you can use to supplement these social stories about bullying. But hopefully you've found a great starting point for talking about this topic with your child or students.
