WHAT IS BULLYING
Bullying among children is aggressive behavior that is intentional and that involves an imbalance of power or strength. Bullying can take many forms:
- Hitting and/or punching (physical bullying
- Teasing or name-calling (verbal bullying)
- Intimidation through gestures or social exclusion (nonverbal bullying or emotional bullying)
- and, Sending insulting messages by phone or computer e-mail (cyber bullying)
Many children, particularly boys and older children and youth, do not tell their parents or adults at school about being bullied. It is important that adults are vigilant to possible signs of bullying.
WARNING SIGNS
- Come home with torn, damaged, or missing pieces of clothing, books, or other belongings
- Has unexplanined cuts, bruised, and scratches
- Has few, if any friends
- Seems afraid of going to school
- Takes a long, "illogical" route when walking to or from school
- Has lost interst in school work or suddenly begins to do poorly in school
EFFECTS OF BULLYING
- Be depressed, lonely, anxious
- Have low self-esteem
- Be absent from school
- Feel sick
- Think about suicide
WHAT TO DO IF YOU SUSPECT OUR CHILD IS BEING BULLIED
- Talk with your child. Tell your child that you are concerned about him or her and that you'd like to help
- Talk with staff at your child's school.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE CERTAIN YOUR CHILD IS BEING BULLIED
- Focus on your child. Be supportive and gather information about the bullying
- Contact your child's teacher and/or principal
- Help your child to become more resilient to bullying from others
To learn more about NO NAME CALLING WEEK, visit http://www.nonamecallingweek.org/. Do your part to stop the spread of hate!
No-Name Calling Week Resource Guide, Copyright © 2004 by GLSEN, Inc.
