Friday, October 18, 2013

Bullying Prevention

Bullying seems to always be in the news. Tragic stories of bullying lead us to think of how we can stop bullying when we see it. Bullying can occur anywhere. From the playgrounds to the classrooms, and after school activities to the Internet, the task of combating bullying can seem overwhelming. We have published a guide on our website that focuses on bullying prevention. With focusing on the prevention aspect, we hope to stop bullying before it gets started.

Studies have shown that bullying occurs every seven minutes on the playground, and every twenty-five minutes in the classroom. Online bullying, or cyberbullying, can occur any time, day or night. Sometimes, bullying can be so severe that a child refuses to go to school out of fear or embarrassment. The National School Climate Center states that 85% of the time, there is no intervention from adults or even other children. Despite the severity of bullying (some cases have led to suicide), little is done to stop or even prevent it.

One of the easiest ways to prevent bullying is to simply teach your child about bullying. They need to feel comfortable discussing the topic, so that if it happens to them they will be more likely to tell an adult. They also need to be able to recognize signs of bullying in case they have a friend who is being bullied. Children can reach out to those being bullied and can become an ally when informing an adult.

Bullying isn't just physical. Bullying can be verbal as well. Just because there are no physical signs of bullying, such as bruises, does not mean bullying is not happening. A lot of scars from bullying are emotional. Recognizing the emotional changes in children can help to catch when bullying is occurring.

Bullying is a serious issue and while our article is not the only answer, it is a great place to start.

To read the full guide, click here.

No comments:

Post a Comment