Why do children bully?
There is no one answer to the question of why children bully. Some kids may do it to try to fit in or because they feel like they don’t have any other way to get attention. Others may bully because they’ve been bullied themselves or they have anger management issues. Whatever the reason, it’s important to remember that bullying is never okay. If you see someone being bullied, step in and help them out.
Fact: “Bullying is aggressive behavior that is intentional, hurtful, physical and psychological, threatening and persistent/repeated, and imbalance of power and dominance.”
Facts About Bullying
Before you can stop something you have to know what bullying looks like!
- Hitting, slapping, elbowing, slamming someone with your shoulder, tripping, pushing
- Hurtful or embarrassing shoving
- Kicking
- Taking, stealing, damaging others belongings
- Restraining
- Pinching
- Forcing someone to do something
- Spitting
- Name-calling
- Insults and put downs either personally or through emails or texts
- Creating mean websites
- Cruelly using social media
- Leaving someone out
- Making racist remarks
- Spreading rumors or lies
Bullying will NOT stop without adult intervention!
Bullying creates a fearful climate, lower a person’s self-esteem, and can increase the risk of suicide. It can take time to resolve bullying problems. Document: Keep a log of any incidents, that include who, what, when, and where.
Report: let teacher’s and/or other responsible adults know of these incidents.
DON’T keep it secret.
DON’T confront the bully or their parents! Help your child learn to be “bully proof.”
DO NOT ignore bullying you see or know about, because then you are participating in the bullying. Stand up for the one being bullied if possible.
NEVER FIGHT the person who bullies. If your child is identified as a bully, apply reasonable and age-appropriate consequences.
DON’T threaten, yell, hit, or withhold affection because these actions will hurt more than help. Work together.
TEACH your child how to respect. Show and discuss with your child what respectful actions look and sound like. https://micheleborba.com/
- Give a compliment every day
- Post the definition of ‘respect’ in your child’s home
- Discuss why acting respectful is important
- Create a song or rap or chant about respect using words that tell why respect is important
- Make a list with your child of things people who are respectful say such as ‘please’, ‘Thank you’, ‘I appreciate that’, ‘pardon me’,…
- When watching a TV show discuss who was respectful or disrespectful and why?
- Interview a family member and ask them for one way to show respect to another person
- Role play: what would you do if someone is disrespectful toward you? A friend? A family member?
- Draw a picture or pictures of what respect looks like
- Make a list of respectful words using glue to write them on card stock and then sprinkle the words with glitter
- Design a mobile using paper, string, and a hanger to show at least four ways you can show respect to yourself, other people, and property
- Make a banner about respect with your child and hang it in their bedroom
- Find a newspaper article or article online about a person who showed respect
- Make a collage for respect on a piece of poster board with at least five pictures of people showing respect to others
Buckaroo Buckeye would like you to add to the stop bullying list! Email your ideas to [email protected]. Let’s share and work together to stop bullying!
