Cyber Bullying & School Bullying

Paying Attention to Your Child’s Violent Behaviors Prevents Bullying

admin — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 22:45:11 +0000

Most parents can detect if there’s something wrong with their children’s behavior if the children are being bullied in school. What about if their child is bullying others? While parents do not want their children to be bullying victims, no one wants their child to become a bully either. It causes just as much damage to the child’s development as being a victim. There are signs if the child is bullying others in school. Parents just need to know how to detect.

If your child is showing violent behavior towards you, his or her siblings, or family pets, it’s time to take action. While this is probably the most obvious sign, most bullying starts earlier. Has your child got into physical or verbal fights with others? Has your child got sent to the principal’s office or detention a lot? If you child comes home with extra money or new belongings that cannot be explained, there usually is something going on in your child’s life that you need to look into.

There are also earlier signs such as the child is quick to blame others, or will not accept responsibility for his or her actions. Or even has a strong needs to win or be best at everything. While most parents would be proud if their child wants to be the best at everything, there could be an underlying issue that could lead to aggressive behaviors.

Preventing bullying is never easy nor simple. Whether the child is a bully or a victim, parents need to start paying attention to the signs as early as possible.

Source: StopBullying.gov

Some problems associated with bullying can last until adulthood

admin — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:55:52 +0000

Bullying can have lasting effects on the victims. It not only can hurt someone’s feelings, it can have other more serious effects. Some problems can even last until adulthood. Recent study has found that bullying can hurt people both emotionally and physically to someone who bullies and the victim. The lasting effects include sadness, hurt feelings, loneliness, depression, poor body image, and low self-esteem which can lead to eating disorders. Other serious effects include poor grades, and headaches, stomach aches, and anxiety.

Many teens can experience the thoughts of suicide in very bad case. Teachers and parents must pay attention to the above signs and take actions to stop further bullying.

Teach your children that spreading rumors is a form of bullying

admin — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 04:21:48 +0000

Many times children bully others without knowing that they’re bullying. Parents need to communicate with their kids about what’s considered bullying and what’s not. Spreading rumors, name-calling, excluding others, and embarrassing them are all forms of social bullying that can cause serious and lasting harm.

Even adults might not be able to draw a clear line between bullying and teasing. The best way to prevent your children from bullying others is through open communication. Take notes of their unusual behaviors and relationship with friends and classmates at school. Talk to your kids about school, their friends, activities often can inform you what’s going on in their lives. If you notice any form of bullying, stop it from the very start.

If the bullying gets worse you need professional help

admin — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 22:06:03 +0000

There are many ways you can prevent and stop bullying from the start, but there are also times that the bullying gets worse. If you’re the parent and you notice worse symptoms, you need to take actions immediately. But if you’re the victim, it’s hard to initiate asking for help. Just remember, you don’t fight bullying on your own, there are many agencies out there to help.

If someone is at immediate risk of harm because of bullying, call the police.
Your child is feeling suicidal because of bullying, call at 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
If your child’s teacher is not keeping your child safe from being bullied, contact the principal or superintendent
If your school is not keeping your child safe from being bullied, contact the State School Department
If your child is sick, stressed, not sleeping, or is having other problems because of bullying, contact a counselor
Your child is bullied because of their race, ethnicity, or disability and local help is not working to solve the problem, contact the U.S. Department of Education’s Office on Civil Rights

Source: StopBullying.gov

Being a bully can hurt other people and yourself

admin — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 17:23:48 +0000

Many children who bully are in need of help from the school and parents. Many children experience domestic problems at home and they might not realize that they need help. Some of them develop aggressive behaviors over time. Did you know that being a bully can also cause you serious problems? Young women who bully are more likely to drop out of school, have poor grades, use drugs, and shoplift. Bullies are more likely to get in trouble, especially when they are caught bullying others. Would you want to always get in trouble, have bad grades, and hurt other people? Probably not! If you’re still not convinced that bullying is bad, keep reading to learn more interesting facts.

Childhood bullies are much more likely to commit a crime by age 24
Often, childhood bullies are violent when they are older
Bullies take part in many bad things, such as drug and alcohol use, and smoking
Childhood bullies may not change and may be bullies as adults
Bullies are more likely to get into fights and steal

Source: the Office on Women’s Health in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health

What girls should do if they’re being bullied in school

admin — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 23:11:31 +0000

Anyone can be a victim of bulling. Girls are more likely to be bullied in school. If you think you’re being bullied, don’t just let it happen. You’re a good person and you don’t make anyone mad, at least not on purpose. Here are tips on what you can do if you are being bullied:

Tell an adult. Many young women fear telling an adult because they don’t want to look like a snitch or seem weak. However, adults can help end the bullying. Also, it may make you feel better to tell an adult. Tell your parents, teacher, or school counselors.
Stand up for yourself. Believe it or not, this will help you gain respect from others. Practice what you might say to a bully with a friend, your mirror, or an adult. Practice saying it in a firm, confident voice. You’ll be surprised that you can even encourage others to protect themselves from bullying, too.
Tell the bully to stop. Calmly walk away. Believe in yourself and tell others how you feel and what you think. You will gain respect from others. Also, by leading the way and showing others that you can’t be bullied, you can help prevent bullying in the future. You can also encourage others to protect themselves from bullying.
Make new friends. Make many friends and get involved in activities which will keep you busy and feel positive about yourself.

Source: the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

A few things that parents should not do if their children are being bullied

admin — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 21:23:21 +0000

If you suspect that your children are being bullied in school, there are things that you should not do. Not to tell your children to ignore the bullying. You need to listen and gather more information from your children. Ignoring it will simply make it more serious. And secondly, never blame your children for provoking the bullying. Don’t encourage your children to fight back by harming the person who bullies them. Doing so could get them suspended or expelled from school.

You might attempt to contact the parents of the bullies, but don’t. Doing so could make the matter worse. Contact the school officials instead. Let them handle the situation with the parents. Schools usually will not reveal the result of such contact to you, don’t demand a solution right away. When you don’t hear an exact result from the school, it doesn’t mean that actions were not taken.

Source: stopbullying.gov

Parents’ involvement prevents bullying

admin — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 18:48:42 +0000

Parents’ involvement in bullying prevention is crucial. Not only in preventing their children from being bullied but also in preventing their children from becoming bullies. Although it is hard for most parents to hear about their child’s negative behavior, parents of children who bully must work closely with the school to resolve the situation. Parents need to remember that children who bully are at high risk for engaging in risky or even criminal behaviors, and it is very important in a bullying situation for the parents to act immediately.

If you notice aggressive behaviors in your children, talk to them. But be objective. You don’t want to sound too nosy or concerned. Make sure your children understand that you will not tolerate bullying. Give clear rules and instructions. Most importantly, spend more time with your child. With both parents working, many families find it hard to squeeze time to be around their children. But parents’ involvement is crucial in children’s development. Not just bullying prevention. Be aware of who your child’s friends are. Find out how they spend their free time. Build on your child’s talents and positive attributes. Enroll them in other activities such as guitar or piano lessons. Encourage him or her to get involved in social activities. Lastly, work with your child’s school and school counselors.

Source: Department of Health & Human Services

What actions to take once cyberbullying starts?

admin — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 16:27:08 +0000

Schools play an important role in fighting cyberbullying. Since children spend large portion of their days in school, school teachers and staff members should be actively involved in fighting cyberbullying. The first thing to do is to investigate reports of cyberbullying immediately. If cyberbullying occurs on-campus or through the school district’s internet system, school staffs are obligated to take action. Even if the cyberbullying occurs off-campus, you can still help. Remember even cyberbullying that occurs off-campus can affect how students behave and relate to each other at school.

Closely monitor the behavior of the students.
Investigate to see if those who are cyberbullied and need help from a school health professional.
Notify parents of students.
Talk with all students about the negative effects of cyberbullying.

Always get ready to contact law enforcement if the aggressive behavior is criminal.

Source: Department of Health & Human Services

Noticeable symptoms of cyberbullying

admin — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 15:09:09 +0000

There are two sides of bullying. The ones who bully and the ones who are being bullied. When it comes to cyberbullying, research has found that both sides involved in bullying are more likely to: unwilling to attend school, have poor grades, show signs of lower self-esteem, and sometimes show signs of health problems.

But the victims will show more signs of cyberbullying. They are significantly more likely to use alcohol and drugs, skip schools altogether, or experience in-person bullying or victimization.

Parents need to take notes when their children are unwilling to go to school. Usually that’s the first sign that there could be a problem going on in their lives.