What is Bullying?
Bullying among children is aggressive behavior that is intentional and that involves an imbalance of power or strength. A child who is being bullied has a hard time defending himself or herself. Usually, bullying is repeated over time. Bullying can take many forms, such as hitting or punching (physical bullying); teasing or name-calling (verbal bullying); intimidation using gestures or social exclusion (nonverbal bullying or emotional bullying); and sending insulting messages by phone or computer e-mail (cyber bullying).
What are the effects of bullying:
Bullying can have serious consequences. Children and youth who are bullied are more than likely than other children to be depressed, lonely, anxious; have low self-esteem; be absent from school; feel sick; and think about suicide.
What to do if your child is being bullied:
First, focus on your child. Be supportive and gather information about the bullying.
Contact your child’s teacher, counselor or principal.
Help your child become more resilient to bullying.
For more detailed information about how to help your child if he/she is being bullied go to:
Tips for Kids!
When asked the question: “What threatens your safety and emotional health?” most kids say, teasing and bullying (Kaiser Family Foundation & Children Now, 2001). Yet many adults, even your parents and teachers, may not realize how often you see or experience bullying when it
happens. Those adults who see it, and do nothing, may not understand that kids can be hurt by bullying.
Kids who are bullied day after day can feel helpless and alone. They may become too scared to report the bullying, fearing that adults won’t believe them. Kids also worry that if the bullies find out they “tattled”, the bullying may get worse. To protect kids who are bullied, parents and all adults must understand what bullying is, how harmful it can be and the best way to stop bullying behaviors.