Bullying occurs everywhere, at school, the workplace, in our neighbourhood and even sometimes at home.

In fact, wherever man interacts with his follow man, there is a possibility of bullying.

And whether you know it or not, whether you chose to accept it or not, the fact still remains that the person being bullied and the one bullying are all seriously affected.

The more reason why we must look into it with all urgency.

In this lesson, we are going to focus on bullying at school and what we can do about that.

We will look into it from five different perspectives.

• What goes into bullying?

• What students can do to stop bullying

• What educators can do to stop bullying

• What parents can do to stop bullying

• What community can do to stop bullying

To start with our lesson, let’s begin by looking at what goes into bullying.

Bullying is the use of force, threat, or coercion to abuse, intimidate or aggressively dominate others.

To be bullied means to be hurt either with words or by actions on purpose.

Usually this occurs more than once and the bullied feels bad and will have a hard time stopping what is happening to them.

Bullying happens at many schools worldwide, and this have great effect especially on young people.

But you see, it isn’t the bullying which is so important here but your reaction towards it.

This will make all the difference between life being bearable at school or one that is of misery.

Bullying can be done by an individual or by a group.

When it is done by a group then it is called mobbing.

In which case the bully may have other people who may be assisting his/her in bullying others.

While most bullying happens during school hours, a significant percentage also takes place either before or after school sessions.

For example, at the playground, in the bus, whiles travelling to or from school and sometimes even in various clubs.

With this awareness in place, it is important you understand that bullying is not time or location dependent.

It can happen anywhere and at any time.

 

Types of bullying

 There are so many types of bullying going on in our society these days.

In this lesson however, We’ll be looking at four:

The ones that you mostly come across in school.

1. Verbal bullying

1. Social bullying

1. Physical bullying

1. Cyber bullying

 

 Verbal bullying

 To be bullied verbally means to be hurt with mean words, either spoken or in written.

Verbal bullying includes:

• Teasing

• Name-calling

• Inappropriate sexual comments

• Taunting

• Threatening to cause harm

 

 

Social bullying

 This is sometimes referred to as relational bullying and involves hurting someone’s reputation or relationships.

This type of bullying includes:

• Leaving someone out on purpose

• Telling other children not to be friends with someone

• Spreading rumours about someone

• Embarrassing someone in public

 

Physical bullying

 Physical bullying involves hurting a person’s body or possessions.

Physical bullying includes:

• Hitting/kicking/pinching

• Spitting

• Tripping/pushing

• Taking or breaking someone’s things

• Making mean or rude hand gestures

 

Cyber bullying

 As the name implies, this type of bullying make use of technology like internet, email, cell phones, social media and pictures to hurt or harm someone else.

Cyber bullying Includes:

• Sending mean text messages

• Posting statements online that are unkind or not true

• Sending or posting pictures that are not yours to share

• Making negative comments online about someone

• Agreeing with someone who posts something hurtful

 

Who is at risk?

You and I can all be victims of bullying.

However some children are at a higher risk of being bullied than others.

Can you guess who these children are?

Those that are less popular and those that have fewer friends.

On the other hand, children that are popular and have more friends are more likely to be bullies.

Other risk factors associated with being bullied include:

• having physical features that are different from peers e.g. being overweight or underweight, wearing glasses or braces, having a physical disability, being from a different racial group, wearing clothes kids consider to be ‘uncool’.

• having a cognitive disability

• identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender

• being seen as annoying

• being seen as weak or defenseless and unlikely to fight back.

• perceived as socially awkward and having few friends

If you have any of these characteristics, you shouldn’t be too worried.

Because you having them does not automatically mean you would be bullied.

Other disorders that may increase the risk of bullying either as a bully or a victim also includes:

• ADHD

• Autism spectrum disorders

• Learning disabilities

• Speech disorders

• Dyspraxia

 

 Effect of bullying

Bullying can affect everyone—those who are bullied, those who bully, and those who witness the bullying.

Victims of bullying are at risk of having psychological disorders such as depression, anxiety, psychosomatic symptoms and eating disorders.

Kids who bully others can also engage in violent and other risky behaviours into adulthood.

Bullying can have serious negative effects on bystanders and witnesses as well.

In that they’ll learn to perceive their school or environment as unsafe.

They may also develop anxiety or depression from witnessing it and may start to avoid school.

 

Kids who are bullied

 Kids who are bullied can experience many negative outcomes including impacts on mental health, substance use, and suicide.

They are more likely to experience:

• Depression and anxiety, increased feelings of sadness and loneliness, changes in sleep and eating patterns, and loss of interest in activities they used to enjoy. These issues may persist into adulthood.

• Health complaints

• Decreased academic achievement—GPA and standardized test scores—and school participation. They are more likely to miss, skip, or drop out of school.

Some bullied children might retaliate with extremely violent measures. Such as abusing or shooting.

 

 

Kids Who Bully Others

 Kids who bully are more likely to:

• Abuse alcohol and other drugs in adolescence and as adults

• Get into fights, vandalize property, and drop out of school

• Engage in early sexual activity

• Have criminal convictions and traffic citations as adults

• Be abusive toward their romantic partners, spouses, or children as adults

 

 Bystanders

 Bullying can have serious negative effects on bystanders and witnesses as well.

They learn to perceive their school or environment as unsafe, may also develop anxiety or depression from witnessing it and may start to avoid school.

Kids who witness bullying are more likely to:

• Have increased use of tobacco, alcohol, or other drugs

• Have increased mental health problems, including depression and anxiety

• Miss or skip school

Because of all these effects, it is important you talk to your kids and find out whether bullying or something else is a concern.

Signs of bullying

No one should put up with bullying. It can make people feel unsafe at school and miserable when they get home.

It is helpful to know what signs to look for if you suspect your child may be a victim of bullying.

The following will equip you with the skills to spot different signs of bullying and some of the symptoms that could come from this.

 Emotional and behavioural signs of bullying

•  Changes in sleep patterns
• Changes in eating patterns

• Frequent tears or anger

• Mood swings

• Feels ill in the morning
• Becomes withdrawn or starts stammering

• Becomes aggressive and unreasonable

• Refuses to talk about what is wrong

• Begins to target siblings

• Continually ‘loses’ money or starts stealing.

 

 Physical signs of bullying

•  Has unexplained bruises, cuts, scratches
• Comes home with missing or damaged belongings or clothes

• Comes home hungry.

 

 

School signs of bullying

•  Doesn’t want to go to school
• Changes their route to school or are frightened of walking to school

• Doesn’t want to go to school on the bus/tram/train

• School grades begin to fall.

 

Other signs of bullying

 Sometimes signs bullying can be far more hidden. They can include:

• Often alone or excluded from friendship groups at school

• A frequent target for teasing, mimicking or ridicule at school

• Unable to speak up in class and appears insecure or frightened.

 

 Signs a Child is Bullying Others

•  Kids may be bullying others if they:
• Get into physical or verbal fights

• Have friends who bully others

• Are increasingly aggressive

• Get sent to the principal’s office or to detention frequently

• Have unexplained extra money or new belongings

• Blame others for their problems

• Don’t accept responsibility for their actions

• Are competitive and worry about their reputation or popularity

 

Why kids don’t report?

• Kids don’t tell adults for many reasons:
• Bullying can make a child feel helpless.

• Kids may want to handle it on their own to feel in control again.

• They may fear being seen as weak or a snitch.

• Kids may fear backlash from the kid who bullied them.

• Bullying can be a humiliating experience.

• Kids may not want adults to know what is being said about them, whether true or false.

• They may also fear that adults will judge them or punish them for being weak.

• Kids who are bullied may already feel socially isolated.

• They may feel like no one cares or could understand.

• Kids may fear being rejected by their peers.

• Friends can help protect kids from bullying, and kids can fear losing this support.

 

Conclusion

Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behaviour involving an imbalance of power, such as the use of physical strength, access to embarrassing information, or popularity to control or harm others.

It mostly occurs or has the potential of occurring more than once.

Bullying may include actions like making threats, spreading rumors, attacking someone physically or verbally, and shunning or excluding someone from a group on purpose.

Bullying is never okay, never cool and never acceptable.

No one EVER deserves to be bullied.

You must not bully others and never allow anyone to bully you.

 If you like this content and the information in here makes sense to you, please share with your friends and colleagues on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and all your social media platforms.

Have you been bullied before, if so how did you handle it?

Leave a comment below and let us learn from your experience.