Types of Bullying

Physical Bully

Physical bullying is a serious problem, affecting not only the bully and the victim, but also the other students who witness the bullying. Parents, teachers, and other concerned adults and young people should be aware of what a physical bully is and some of the ways to handle it.

There are many types of negative physical interactions that can occur between young people, including fighting, practical jokes, stealing, and sexual harassment. These things are not considered physical bullying unless:

  • The same victim is targeted repeatedly
  • The bully or bullies intend to hurt, embarrass, or intimidate the victim
  • The actions occur in a situation with a real or perceived imbalance of power, such as when the bully is stronger than the victim or has a higher social standing

In this context, physical bullying can take many forms:

  • Hitting
  • Pushing
  • Tripping
  • Slapping
  • Spitting
  • Stealing or destroying possessions, including books, clothing, or lunch money

Physical bullying may also cross the line into sexual harassment or sexual assault.

Physical bullying occurs most often at school, though it can also occur on the way to and from school and after school. Middle school is the age when bullying is most common, with almost all middle school students being affected directly or indirectly by bullying. This is an age where young people want more to fit in with their peers, making some students more likely to bully or condone bullying to fit in, while those who don’t fit in stand out more as victims. Bullying can also occur in earlier grades, as well as through high school and even into adulthood.

Physical bullying is more likely to occur among males, though females may also be the perpetuators or victims of physical bullying. Bullies may have any number of reasons for bullying others, such as wanting more control over others, and wanting to fit in. Bullies are often physically stronger than their victims and have friends who condone their behavior. Students who bully others, however, often have trouble with self control, following rules, and caring for others, and are at higher risk for problems later in life, such as violence, criminal behavior, or failure in relationships or career.

Victims of physical bullying are usually physically weaker than the bullies, and also may be socially marginalized for some reason, including weight, ethnicity, or other characteristics that make it harder for them to fit in. Bullying can have serious consequences for the victim, leading to low self esteem, depression, trouble at school, and sometimes even violent behavior.

Some signs that a student may be a victim of physical bullying include:

  • Coming home from school with bruises, cuts, or other unexplained injuries
  • Having damaged clothing, books, or possessions
  • Often “losing” things that they take to school
  • Complaining of frequently not feeling well before school or school activities
  • Skipping certain classes
  • Wanting to avoid going to school or going to school a certain way, such as taking strange routes home from school or not wanting to ride the bus
  • Acting sad or depressed
  • Withdrawing from others
  • Saying they feel picked on
  • Displaying low self esteem
  • Mood swings, including anger or sadness
  • Wanting to run away
  • Trying to take a weapon to school
  • Talking about suicide or violence against others

If a student is a victim of bullying, show love and support to the child and explain that the bullying is not their fault, and that what the bully is doing is wrong. Talk to the victim to find out when and how the bullying is taking place, then talk to teachers and school administrators about the problem. Bullying should always be taken seriously. Don’t encourage the victim to fight back. Often the best way to deal with bullies is to avoid them or react as little as possible. Unfortunately, with physical bullying this is not always possible. Staying with a friend or friends or where adults are supervising can sometimes help deter the bullying. If the victim is struggling with feelings of depression or anger, seek counseling to help them deal with their emotions.

If a student is being a bully, tell them that the behavior is not acceptable. All young people should be taught to respect others and that bullying is not acceptable.

Parents should talk to their children often about what goes on at school, including their friends and if they ever see or experience bullying. Parents should encourage their children not to support bullying, even by watching it, and to report it if it’s happening. Depending on the situation, the student may be able to stand up to the bully, show support for the victim, or at least walk away from the bullying and report it to an adult.

Parents of victims or of bullies can also encourage schools to have stronger anti-bullying measures, like anti-bullying campaigns, careful adult supervision of students, zero-tolerance policies, and counseling for students involved in bullying.

Sources:

SAMHSA Family Guide, “Bullying Affects All Middle School Kids” [online]
Nemours, TeensHealth, “Dealing with Bullying” [online]
Consortium to Prevent School Violence, “Fact Sheet #2: Bullying Prevention” [online]
HealthNewsDigest.com, “Know the Signs of Physical Bullying” [online]

What is Bullying Harassment

Bullying harassment may include verbal bullying, cyber bullying, text bullying, etc…and may occur as part of workplace harassment, or school bullying. This article helps define bullying harassment and offers tips on dealing with bullying harassment. Help stop bullying now.

One of the issues that many of us deal with while growing up is bullying harassment. Bullying harassment is common, but that does not mean that it should be acceptable. It is a good idea to teach your children ways to avoid bullies, and also to teach them to treat others with respect. Indeed, it is possible for some who have been harassed to become bullies themselves in some situations.

What is bullying harassment?

A bully is someone who is overbearing or cruel. The aim of bullying is to cause embarrassment and humiliation in the subject. Often, a bully is someone who is bigger or stronger in some way, and who harasses those who are smaller or weaker. Harassment is systematically bothering someone to the point where the environment becomes dangerous in some way. Bullying harassment is aimed at intimidation, and a desire to dominate for some reason.

It is important to note that bullying is not just physical behavior. While many people think of bullying in terms of physical harm and danger, this is not the only type of bullying harassment out there. It is also possible to bully people emotionally, verbally or electronically – without ever laying a finger on the victims. It is important to note that non-physical forms of bullying harassment can be just as traumatizing as physical bullying. Indeed, physical signs of bullying often disappear long before the psychological effects of emotional, verbal or electronic bullying disappear.

Even in its non-physical forms, bullying harassment is meant to intimidate and terrorize the victim. Saying rude and hurtful things habitually, turning friends, classmates and co-workers against someone, or harassing someone online or via text message, are all forms of bullying. These types of bullying can lead to ostracizing the victim, as well as inflicting emotional damage. The idea is to raise oneself up by tearing someone down and ruining his or her reputation. This can drive victims into depression, anti-social behavior and even substance abuse.

Dealing with bullying harassment

It can be difficult to deal with bullying harassment. However, since bullying is a behavior aimed at choosing someone who appears weak and then intimidating him or her further, there are some techniques that can help stave off bullies:

  • Showing good posture indicates confidence, and may reduce someone’s likelihood of being a target.
  • Making eye contact can also communicate that you are not vulnerable.
  • Avoid isolated areas. Try to stay in public areas, where there are likely to be witnesses – especially authority figures – to the bullying behavior.
  • Keep friends around. Many bullies are not interested in picking on someone who has a support system. Try to go places with friends, so that you are not alone.
  • Runaway. This can be difficult, especially for children. However, it is better to leave the situation than to comply with a bully’s demands.
  • Tell an authority figure. Children should be taught to notify authority figures of bullying behavior. This can be a good move, since it will bring the bully to the attention of those who can keep an eye on things.

You will need to show that you are willing to listen to your child, and that you will take him or her seriously. Try not to judge, and teach your child tactics to help him or her avoid becoming a target. If he or she is a target, let someone (teachers, etc.) know about the problem. You can try to approach the parents of the bully, but they might not be willing to hear the truth. It is important, though, that your attempts to talk to a bully’s parents do not end up in conflict.

In the end, the best thing to do is to work with other parents and teachers to help show those in the school that bullying is not something that will be tolerated. This can nip the problem in the bud, as long as everyone makes an effort to stop bullying.

Cyber Bullying & Other Social Bullies

As the Internet and online social networks continue to grow so does cyberbullying aka social bullying. Cyber bullying can take on many forms. Keep reading to learn what cyber bullying is, the different types of cyber bullies, and tips on how to stop cyber bullying of children and teens.

When we think of bullying, we often think about physical altercations, or perhaps verbal abuse from others. However, this in not the only form of bullying. As the Internet becomes more popular, and as online communities become more tight-knit and more prevalent, bullying is popping up in cyber space. Cyber bullying can be just as devastating as bullying in real life. Indeed, in some cases cyber bullying is an extension of bullying already endured in the “real world” at school.

What is Cyber Bullying?

Cyberbullying is when a child or teenager is harassed, humiliated, embarrassed, threatened or tormented (bullied) using digital technology. This is not limited to the Internet; cyber bullying also encompasses bullying done through such things as text messages using mobile devices. It is important to note that cyber bulling can only happen between minors. When an adult is harassing children or teenagers, it is known as cyber harassment or cyber stalking.

Cyber bullying is often a systemic attempt to get another child or teen to feel bad about him or her self through electronic communication. It usually happens more than once, and includes leaving demeaning messages on someone’s Facebook page (social bullying), uploading embarrassing photos, or spreading gossip or rumors through instant messaging and text messaging. There are a number of ways to humiliate and threaten children online. And because the damage is often psychological, and carries over into the real world, the threats posed by cyber bullying can be very real. There have been cases where cyber bullying has led to severe depression, self harm and even suicide.

Different kinds of cyber bullies

While some of the traits of cyber bullies are similar to more traditional bullies, it is important to note that there are some differences. Some cyber bullies are victims of real word bullying, and go online and bully others to feel powerful. Others are bullies offline, and want to extend their sphere of influence and power to the online world. Other cyber bullies just want to show that they can do certain things online to show off.

It is important to look for signs that your child is being bullied or is a cyber bully. In both cases, it is important to stop the problem by looking for causes of the bullying behavior. The motives for cyber bullying are rather wide ranging, so it is important to find out the reasons behind the behavior so that a solution can be found. Additionally, it may be necessary to help children and teenagers involved by getting them counseling and helping them understand how to overcome the problem.

Stop cyber bullying

It is important that parents play a role in stopping cyber bullying and the social bully. Indeed, it is vital that parents pay attention and be open with their children and invite their confidences. If your child is a cyber bully, you should make clear rules about appropriate online behavior, and have consequences, such as losing accounts or computer time, if they break the rules. You can work with schools to help stop cyber bullying, and work with other parents to try and prevent it. Make sure your child knows that he or she can come to you if there is a problem online.

In some cases, it is possible to get law enforcement involved – especially if an adult becomes involved and brings the level of offence to cyber stalking or cyber harassment. It is vital that your child comes to you when cyber bullying takes place. It is usually possible to print the screen showing the offending action. Additionally, it is possible to trace the IP address of the user, and locate the computer from which the cyber bullying is taking place. This can help prevent further incidents.

Ultimately, though, it is important that your community as a whole takes a stand against cyber bullying, teaching kids to treat each other with respect, and to see that it is unacceptable when others are being hurt or harassed by a social bullies.