Welcome back to School! The halls of the schools will be filled with children laughing and giggling. They will be talking to their friends and making plans for who is sleeping over at each other house next weekend. There will be many hugs and a lot of smiles. But for some children returning to school means returning to bullying, being picked on, being left out, or not feeling loved, accepted, or wanted. Over 165,000 kids refuse to go to school each day for fear of being bullied. Yet, 64% of students who are bullied do not report it. But, 70.6 % of students report having witnessed bullying in their school and over 71% say bullying is a problem. Also 90% of students in grades in 4-8 have been bullied or harassed in school.
Bullying is when a person or a group deliberately tries to make someone else feel upset, scared, or ashamed. People often bully others who have any difference of behavior, appearance, culture, race, class, ability, or identity. There are four types of bullying:
- Physical bullying is harm or threats of someone physically.
- Verbal bullying is hurtful or unkind teasing.
- Psychological bullying is leaving someone out or saying bad things so others will think less of them.
- Cyber-bullying is using online and mobile technology to harm someone sensitively and collectively.
Sometimes it can be easy to minimize a bullying situation because you do not want to deal with it. Ways to talk to your child about bullying include:
- Asking open ended questions about what happened.
- Listening more than talking to your child.
- Offering support to your child.
- Helping their child problem solve.
- Asking – Do I feel that the person or group has intentionally hurt or humiliated me?
Always remember to take bullying seriously. Teach your children to treat others with respect and kindness. Teach your child that it is wrong to ridicule differences like race, religion, appearance, special needs, gender, or economic status. Encourage good behavior and help them work through anger and aggression. Remember to have open communication with your child. If your child is having a problem at school they will be able to talk to you about it.
If you or someone you know is being bullied and you would like to talk or want tips on dealing with bullying, do not hesitate to get in touch with the Child Advocate at The Safe Place at 501-354-1884. If you or someone you know is in an abusive relationship, you can contact The Safe Place at 1-888-554-2501, anytime, day or night, or the Perryville office at 501-889-2030.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740914002187?via%3Dihub
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