As the news continues about the rising rates of bullying, parents need to take a stand. Determine if your child is being bullied or possibly a bully. Has your child witnessed another child being teased? Is he/she a bully bystander or will they be the one that busts them (tells the teacher or person in authority)?
The U.S. Department of Education cites the following ways in which bystanders and peers of victims can be negatively affected by acts of bullying:
- They may become afraid to associate with the victim for fear of lowering their own status or of retribution from the bully and becoming victims themselves.
- They may fear reporting bullying incidents because they do not want to be called a "snitch," a "tattler" or an "informer."
- Some experience feelings of guilt or helplessness for not standing up to the bully on behalf of their classmate.
- Many may be drawn into bullying behavior by group pressure.
- They may feel unsafe, unable to take action or a loss of control.
Bullying has become a vicious trend that although is not new, it is escalating as it spreads into cyberbullying. We are hearing about more children suffering with depression and committing suicide that may have links to them being bullied or teased in school or outside of school.
To find out more parent tips visit Connect with Kids - Bullying Bystanders.
Be an educated parent, learn all you can about bullying. Talk to your children and encourage them to do the right thing.
Comments
I hope my teen is a "buster." I know he doesn't like it when kids get picked on. I'll have to ask him directly later today. When I've asked in him in the past, he's said he doesn't really see any bullying going on. Hmmm. I'm going to have to explore that a bit.
Thanks for making me think, Sue!
Sue, thanks for sharing information about this important reality. In instances of bullying, the statistics show that only 4% of adults and 11% of peers intervene. Sadly, 85% of the time there is no intervention at all.
Our nonprofit org works with schools to measure and improve school climate, and the #1 commonality we see across many schools is the disconnect between student and staff perceptions of bullying. To address this disconnect, and painful reality of school life for many students - which should not be thought of as "kids just being kids" - we created a bully prevention awareness campaign to give kids and adults the tools to become upstanders, as opposed to passive bystanders. If anyone is interested in promoting upstander behavior to kids, please google BullyBust. (I can't post a URL in the comments.)
Simply said, kids can't learn if they don't feel safe.
Hey Sue, Great article. I also write for examiner and had just submitted an article on bullying bosses. (My next one is bullies in the workplace). I arrived back to work from vacation and found that a co-workers son, an endocrinologist, attempted suicide last week. Apparently, he had another doctor who had been bullying him for a couple of years at work and there was no recourse for him on the job to get help. Sadly, bullying is an adult problem too. Thank you for your article. Perhaps it is articles like yours that will help articles like mine to not have to be written.
Managers who bully breed angry employees - Mobile Relationship Psychology Examiner
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