Bullying – Jann Weeratunga

Anti-Bullying

I have the privilege of working with a well known School Wellness Facilitator and Councillor, Dr X, who has agreed to let me share vital anti-bullying tips on my site.

Here you will find Dr X’s 10 top tips – 1 a week, or sign up if you would like all 10 NOW.

You will also find my own observations about bullies and how to Dodge the Bully

TIP #1 – IS MY CHILD BEING BULLIED?

When does a parent know whether or not their child is being bullied?

Bullying is a repeated form of attack whether verbal, physical or cyber bullying. Random name-calling and teasing are just that – random. Yes, parents need to be aware that little ‘Johnny’ was teased at school today, but that does not mean you have to go racing up to the school.

Stop!

Ask questions.

“Has X done this to you or someone else before?”

If NO then it is probably an isolated incident and unfortunately part of every child’s growing pains. Usually, in these cases, the children have long since forgotten what happened and moved on. If YES, now is the time to act.

What is Bullying?

Bullying

What is Bullying? How do you know if your child is being bullied at school, a social club, Sunday school, a youth club or even around where you live or the kid next door?

A bully wants to hurt the other person (it’s not an accident). A bully does or says the same things over and over again. Bullying is about using power over another person. There are four main kinds of bullying:

Physical:

• hitting, shoving, kicking, spitting on, beating up on others
• damaging or stealing another person’s property

Verbal:

• name-calling, mocking or hurtful teasing
• humiliating or threatening someone
• making people do things they don’t want to do

Social:

• excluding others from the group
• spreading gossip or rumours about others
• making others look foolish
• making sure others do not spend time with a certain person

Electronic: using e-mail, cellular phone or other forms of social media and text messages to:
• threaten or hurt someone’s feelings
• single out, embarrass or make someone look bad
• spread rumours or reveal secrets about someone

So, bullying is the physical or psychological intimidation that occurs repeatedly over time. Bullying can be overt (i.e., teasing, hitting, or stealing); boys are most often overt bullies, or, Bullying can covert (i.e., spreading rumours or exclusion); girls are most often covert bullies.

So now we know what it is, how do we know if it is happening? see tip #3

What is Bullying? Read More »