Cyber Bullying & School Bullying

Mental health professionals should be aware that their job is to protect children from repeat bullying and reduce or limit the effects of bullying that have happened to these children.

Sometimes it’s tempting to try to prevent future bullying by focusing on how these young people should do with their own actions. However, doing so can sometimes backfire because we risk confirming their belief that the bullying was their own fault.

Source: www.ask.hrsa.gov

Many children will not tell their parents that they’re being bullied.The main reason is that they are embarrassed and ashamed. Sometimes they’re even frightened of the children who are bullying them. As parents, you are responsible for paying attention to what your child is saying.

Its takes a lot of courage for them to tell you. If you notice anything that’s bothering your child, remember that bullying can have serious consequences. Children who are bullied are more likely than other children to feel lonely, depressed and anxious. Some of them have low self-esteem and often feel sick and absent from school. Pay attention to these signs.

Source: www.ask.hrsa.gov

Children with disabilities and special needs are at higher risk being bullied by peers. Some research has been done and found out that there is a growing number of bullying cases.

The special needs children who are being bullied include children who have learning disabilities, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), obese children, children who have diabetes, and children who stutter.

Parents, teachers, and counselors should work together to prevent bullying from happening to the special needs children. All parties should be made aware that bullying behavior may cross the line to become “disability harassment to these children. Bullying can happen not just in classrooms, it can happen on the bus, in the cafeteria, in hallways, and on the playground.

Source: www.ask.hrsa.gov

Bullying can happen anywhere to anyone. It can happen in school or after school environment. If a child hurts or scares another child on purpose, it’s bullying. If the bullied person has hard time defending himself, and you see it and want to help. Can you help? Bullying isn’t always easy to notice because it can be hitting or name-calling, but sometimes it can be saying mean things to people in person or behind their back.

If you notice those behaviors and want to help. Make sure you do the following:

• Don’t just stand there. . . say something or tell an adult;
• Tell the bullying that it isn’t funny or cool to bully someone;
• However, don’t bully back which can make things even worse for the bullied and for yourself.

But be sure that you feel safe to do the above. If you don’t feel safe, then tell an adult such as a teacher, a school counselor, a school nurse, the principal, the bus driver, or your parents.

Source: www.ask.hrsa.gov

First, you should explain to your children what bullying is. “Bullying happens when someone hurts or scares another person on purpose”. Tell them that bullying usually happens more than one time.

Show your children that sometimes bullying is easily noticeable but sometimes it isn’t. Both boys and girls can bully and can be bullied.

Teach your children what they can do in a bullying situation:

• Tell you or other adults.
• If the bullying happened school, tell the teacher, school counselor, or principal.
• Don’t fight back. Trying to bully those who bully you will just make matters worse.
• Try not to show anger or fear to the bullies.
• Calmly tell the student to stop. Walk away from the bully.
• If they can, try to avoid bullying situations:
  • Avoid areas of the school where there are not
    many students or teachers around.
  • Make sure you aren’t alone in the bathroom
    or locker room.
  • Sit near the front of the bus.
  • Don’t bring expensive things or lots of money
    to school.
  • Sit with a group of friends at lunch.
  • Take a different route through hallways or
    walk with friends or a teacher to your classes.

Source: www.ask.hrsa.gov

There are many things that parents can do to help their children become more resilient to bullying. Enroll your children in music lessons, develop talents. Facilitate athletics and art activities. Help the child become more confident among his peers. Provide environment where your children can make friends with friendly students and meet friends outside of the school. Make your home a happy and loving place for your child to feel secure and seek shelter.

Parents’ involvement in bulling prevention and detection is essential in the battle of stopping bullying. But how do you find out if your children are being bullied if they are too embarrassed or too afraid to tell you. There are a few warning signs that parents should pay attention to:

1. If your child comes home with torn, damaged, or missing pieces of clothing, books, or other belongings;
2. Has unexplained cuts, bruises, and scratches when the child come home;
3. Complains frequently of headaches, stomachaches, or other physical issues;
4. Has trouble sleeping;
5. Shows a loss of appetite;
6. Appears anxious and suffers from low self-esteem,
7. does not have any friends or very few friends to play with;
8. Seems afraid of going to school, walking to and from school, riding the school bus, or taking part in organized activities with peers;
9. The child has no interest in school work or suddenly begins to do poorly in school;
10. When your child comes home appearing sad or moody.

Talk to your child if you see any of the 10 warning signs.

Source: U.S Department of Health and Human Services

Bullying is aggressive behavior that involves an imbalance of power or strength. Often, bullying is repeated over time.

Conflict involves antagonism among two or more people. Whereas any two people can have a conflict (or a disagreement or a fight), bullying only occurs where there is a power imbalance—where one child has a hard time defending himself or herself. Why is the difference between bullying and conflict important? Conflict resolution or mediation strategies are sometimes misused to solve bullying problems. These strategies can send the message that both children are “partly right and partly wrong,” or that, “We need to work out the conflict between you.” These messages are not appropriate messages in cases of bullying (or in any situation where someone is being victimized). The appropriate message to the child who is bullied should be, “Bullying is wrong and no one deserves to be bullied. We are going to do everything we can to stop it.”

Source: U.S Department of Health and Human Services

Bullying is aggressive behavior that is intentional and that involves an imbalance of power or strength. Often, it is repeated over time. Bullying can take many forms such as hitting, punching (physical bullying); teasing or name-calling (verbal bullying); intimidation through gestures or social exclusion (nonverbal bullying or emotional bullying); and sending insulting messages by e-mail (cyberbullying).

Students report that most bullying happens at school, but bullying does not stop at the end of the school day. Children and youth are also involved in bullying in out-of-school time programs. Although there is very little research on bullying in these settings, a recent national study of sixth through tenth graders in the U.S. (Nansel et al., 2003) found that

• Nine percent of boys and 5 percent of girls reported that they had been bullied away from school “sometimes” or “weekly” (compared with 16 percent of boys and 11 percent of girls who reported being bullied at school).
• Children who bully and who are bullied (both in school and away from school) are more likely than other children to be involved in fighting and carry a weapon. In fact, 70 percent of boys and 30–40 percent of girls who were involved in bullying outside of school on a weekly basis reported carrying a weapon in the past month.

Source: Department of Health and Human Services

In a telephone survey of preteens (6-11 year-olds) and teens (12-17 year-olds) (Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, 2006):

• 45% of preteens and 30% of teens who had been cyberbullied received the messages while at school.
• 44% of preteens and 70% of teens who had been cyberbullied received the messages at home.
• 34% of preteens and 25% of teens who had been cyberbullied received the messages while at a friend’s house.

Source: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services