Bullying Prevention

Before we can talk about bullying, bullying prevention, and how we can bully-proof our kids, we have to really understand the definition of “bullying.”

Kids can be mean and tease and name call.

They can be thoughtless and self-involved and not even realize they’re hurting other kids’ feelings.

Kids have arguments and fights as they try to navigate through social rules.

That’s not bullying.

When kids do any of these things and are then asked to stop and they stop, it’s not bullying.

But, if they knowingly cause harm and repeat their actions, it escalates to the next level.

So, Bullying is:

intentional,
deliberate and
repeated aggressive actions
that involves a real or perceived imbalance of power or control (ie: physical strength, popularity or the knowledge of embarrassing information).

There are four kinds of bullying that “hurt, harm, or humiliate:”

1. Social Bullying-social exclusion from a group on purpose, spreading rumors, telling others not to be friends with someone, intentional isolation
2. Verbal Bullying-teasing, taunting, threats to cause harm, name calling
3. Physical Bullying– hitting, kicking, spitting, tripping or pushing, exposure to a known food allergen, breaking or stealing possessions or money
4. Cyber Bullying- spreading rumors online, sharing inappropriate information or pictures online, impersonation, “outing” someone, online threats

Bullying becomes harassment when the behavior is targeted towards someone because of their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, medical/health condition, or national origin.