In recent years, there have been more cases of bullying in schools, from primary to high schools all over the world. The consequence of bullying has led to some of the victims dying while others were so traumatized they ended their own lives.
Many of these bullying cases do not come out in the open because victims of bullying do not report them out of fear of being punished as a form of revenge.
Programs have been set at schools to deal with cases like bullying. But, it is important to know why bullies behave in such ways. And, how bullies, not just their victims, can be helped. This would ensure there is a "peace" environment at schools where no one is molested or manipulated.
Definition of Bullying
Bullying occurs when an individual takes the advantage of the power he/she has to inflict abuse on others physically, emotionally, sexually, or verbally.
Some of the ways children bully other children include calling them names, stealing or damaging their things, not talking or leaving them out of activities, gossiping or lying about them, making sexist comments, intimidating or threatening them, forcing them to hand over their money or possessions, embarrassing them, bossing them around, making them do things they don't want to, bragging about being tough, and acting as if they rule the whole world.
How Children Become Bullies
It's untrue that there are some children who become bullies as a result of inborn traits. Bullies are typically not born that way. They are often cultivated through life experiences.
There are a lot of reasons children bully. Some children bully to get attention, while others want people to be afraid of them. They might see it as a way of being popular, showing off, or making them look tough. They are likely to have adopted the behavior as a result of domestic violence in their homes where they have been abused, or have witnessed their mothers physically abused by their fathers.
Also, viewing of violent behavior on television, for example watching wrestling, are more likely to lead to children to act aggressively. There are those who start bullying because they themselves have been bullied. Also, where parents give in to an aggressive child, the child will learn to use bullying to get his/her way.
How Children Can be Helped to Prevent Bullying
If a parent finds out that his/her child has been bullying others, the parent should try to find out how and why the child has been behaving this way. The parent should try to explain to the child why it's wrong and how to stop that behavior.
It would also be good if the parent tries to find out if the child's school has anti-bullying programs, and whether the school has a counselor to deal with related problems. It would be a helpful thing if schools came up with programs to address such cases as bullying. This would help students greatly not only at schools but also in their later lives.
Bullying is a serious issue that needs to be addressed both at home and at school. If adults, especially parents, do not intervene by holding their children accountable for their behavior and counseling them or teaching them healthy alternative ways, then it is likely that such behavior will continue to prevail in their later lives.
References:
Olweus, D. Bullying at School: What We Should Know and What We Can Do. Oxford UK: Blackwell Publishers, 1993.
Education.com. Bullying at School and Online (Accessed June 7, 2010).
Benny Njugna - Benny Njuguna is currently a Creative Writing Student, studying the course through distance learning with Writers Bureau. He currently ...
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