Bullying is defined as a form of violence and harm inflicted on one child or a group of children by other children. It can be verbal, physical, or behavioral abuse. Bullying is considered one of the most serious behaviors that occur among children in schools, and it must be dealt with wisely and with full awareness.
Bullying takes various forms among groups of children depending on their ages, but three types are the most common and dangerous among them:
This involves harm by hitting and relying on physical strength, more common among teenagers due to their more developed bodies than younger children.
The bullying child verbally harms another child by spreading bad rumors, mocking appearance, language, or body, using hurtful nicknames and offensive words. This type of bullying is very widespread among younger children.
Symbolic bullying means harm through behaviors where the bullying child exerts dominance over others, for example, calling to boycott a certain child, belittling and humiliating them, making them a laughingstock, and threatening with eye gestures, among others.
There are general causes that make a child bully others, including:
A child living in a broken or neglectful family without emotional care or attention tends to bully and assault others to prove their existence and assert themselves.
A child’s poor academic performance may lead them to harm or insult other children to compensate for this weakness from their point of view.
Sometimes children misunderstand leadership negatively, which is often influenced by the behavior they observe at home. For example, they may consider leadership as using physical punishment, insults, raising their voice, controlling, and punishing other children.
A child’s feeling of jealousy towards other children pushes them to adopt bullying behaviors, targeting the better-looking, more successful, or more favored child. This is often rooted in the parenting style at home that constantly compares siblings.
There are clear signs and symptoms indicating your child is being bullied, including:
Bullying behavior involves two main parties: the bully and the bullied child. Both must be dealt with responsibly and carefully. Full support should be provided especially to the bullied child, encouraging them to continuously inform their parents about what is happening. It is important to ignore the bully and avoid responding with the same behavior, especially if the behavior repeats. Hence, educating children about bullying and building trust between children and their families to share every detail that happens among friends is crucial for better awareness and response.
Next, parents of both the bully and bullied child should communicate with the school counselor and inform them of the situation. The counselor plays a vital role in managing this behavior and promoting cooperation and participation among children through curricular and extracurricular activities.
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