October is National Bullying Prevention Month and unfortunately it’s relevant and prevalent in our culture among children, adolescents, and even adults. According to the American Justice Department, approximately 1 in 4 U.S. students say they have been bullied by the time they graduate high school.
By definition, bullying is unwanted aggressive behavior; observed or perceived power imbalance; and repetition of behaviors or high likelihood of repetition.
There are many different types of bullying including overt (direct to the person) and covert (gossip, spreading rumors behind someone’s back) bullying.
Bullying can be physical, verbal, relational/social, cyber, and or damage to someone’s property. Physical bullying happens more with males and relational/social bullying happens more with females. While most bullying happens in middle school, I have seen it as young as preschool and as old as adulthood.
And a bully situation has three components: the bully, the victim, and the bystander. In one study, 30% say they have bullied someone else, but a whopping 70% say they have been a bystander to bullying. However, studies have shown that when bystanders intervene, bullying stops within 10 seconds 57% of the time. But only about 25% of students who are bullied notify adults about the bullying.
When you aren’t part of the solution, you are part of the problem.
About 77% of students have admitted to being the victim of one type of bullying or another.
When it comes to cyber-bullying, statistics have shown that approximately 42% of children admit to being bullied while online with 1 in 4 of them being verbally attacked more than once. In addition, about 35% of children have been threatened online and approximately 58% of children and adolescents have reported that something mean has been said about them or to them online.
160,000 children within the United States stay home each day due to bullying situations and this needs to stop! So what can you do?
Learn what bullying truly is and take it seriously. If a child comes to you and tells you they are being bullied listen to them. Educate your children on what bullying is and what they can do to put an end to it! Teach your children to not just be a bystander, but to speak up! And most of all, teach your children to be kind.
If you would like to learn more about bullying prevention, contact Simple Acts of Care and Kindness at 866-459-7225 or visit www.simpleacts.org for additional information.
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