Bullying

www.help4everyparent.com

These Articles are by Wendy Nichols and Robyn Collins.  They are experts on all aspects of bullying.

Bullying Part 1 – you’re not alone.

Approximately 15% of students are subject to bullying on a daily basis.  This means that in a class of 30 students, you can expect that between 4 and 5 students are bullied every day. Some very famous people have been bullied including: Bill Gates, Tom Cruise, Mel Gibson, David Beckham, Sir Albert Einstein and Daryl Hannah all report being bullied.

Bullying is different from teasing, or ‘playing around’ because the person doing the bullying enjoys hurting the victim and having power over the victim. Also, bullying usually follows a pattern of repeated behaviour over a period of time.

Bullying can be:

Verbal: the child is called names, put down, threatened.

Physical: the child is hit, tripped, poked, kicked, or belongings are stolen or damaged.

Social: the child is left out, ignored, or rumours are spread.

Psychological: the child is stalked or intimidated by, for example, using threatening body language.

How do you know your child is being bullied?

If your child is being bullied you may notice the following signs. Your child:

• has bruises, cuts, scratches, torn clothing that cannot be explained and complains about not feeling well;

• is reluctant to go to school or requests to change schools;

• has books, money, lunch or belongings stolen, damaged, scattered around or ‘lost’;

• makes excuses to avoid going to school, or insists that you take him/her to school even though you live close by;

• is not sleeping well or is wetting the bed;

• frequently requests money;

• experiences a sudden, unexplained deterioration in class work and/or homework;

• does not participate in school activities/has no friends/stays near the teacher during breaks;

• appears anxious, insecure, distressed, unhappy, sad, secretive or has mood changes and seems more angry than usual;

• claims ‘I’m okay’ when questioned about obvious unhappiness;

• appears to have low self-esteem;

• is unhappy at the end of weekends or school vacation;

• has few friends and no friends in class and is not invited to birthday parties or other social activities;appears to be teased and laughed at by his/her peer group.

Robyn Collins and Wendy Nichols

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Kids in the news -Bullying

This year Australia had its first national day of action against bullying and violence. The education departments in all states support anti-bullying programs and it is good to see a co-ordinated response to a problem that can take so many forms e.g. physical, verbal, emotional, written and cyber intimidation. To solve this behaviour we need parents, teachers, whole schools and individuals to take action. Many kids stand by and watch others being bullied. Standing by is condoning bullying. The website www.bullyingnoway.com.au has some great ideas for groups to keep action against bullying at the forefront in your community. As a parent you can:

• talk to your kids about bullying

• suggest what they can say to stop a bully but still stay safe

• show by example how to welcome newcomers to your community

• encourage kids to give their own ideas of what to do if bullying occurs

• make sure your child knows who to tell if they see bullying

• teach children that gossip is a form of bullying and should be reported

• teach all children to show respect for others whatever their age, size, sex, appearance, ability or race.

The nation action day will be held each year on the third Friday in March but we need to be aware of bullying every day.

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