Welcome to a day in my life. I can't guarantee that this will be an exciting read for anyone. My life is filled with all the mundane activities of a stay-at-home-mom just trying to raise her three sons to be the best men they can be.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

13 Facts about Bullying

Thursday Thirteen today is devoted to bullying. Unfortunately, we know all too well what bullying is and how devastating it can be.

1. Bullying is not a normal stage that people go through. It isn't normal social behaviour. It is very damaging to the person who is being bullied. It leaves deep and lasting scars that will follow the person throughout their life.

2. Bullying occurs in school playgrounds every 7 minutes and once every 25 minutes in class, and quite often it is done right under the teacher's nose without the teacher knowing.
Bullying is often hidden from teachers. Teachers’ lack of awareness is evident in playground observations in which teachers intervened to stop only one in twenty-five (4%) of the bullying episodes

3. Boys report more physical forms of bullying. Girls tend to bully in indirect ways, such as gossiping and excluding.

4. Yes, exclusion is a form of bullying!

5. Bullying occurs when there is little supervision or when large groups of children engage in rough and tumble play or competitive sports. (this is something that I've witnessed first hand when Matt was on the playground, not involved in a football game, but was constantly tackled to the ground by boys who were.)

6. Bullying is reduced in a school if the principal is committed to reducing bullying.

7. Victims often keep their problems a secret: They feel they should handle bullying themselves; they worry about the bully’s revenge or other children’s disapproval: and/or they think that adults can do little to help them.

8. Boys are more likely than girls to be drawn into bullying episodes and actively participate.

9. 85% of bullying episodes occur in the context of a peer group.

10. Both boys and girls who are victimized, report symptoms of depression, such as sadness, and loss of interest in activities.

11. Bullying stops in less than 10 seconds, 57% of the time when peers intervene on behalf of the victim.

12. Adolescent bullies are often popular. “The popular kids are very likely to use their popularity in a negative way. They will use their status within the group to humiliate others. And because they tend to be psychologically stronger than their peers, they use that ability to control others. Bullies can enjoy a high social status.”

13. Encouraging children who are victimized to fight back may, in fact, makes the bullying interaction worse. We know that when children use aggressive strategies to manage bullying situations, they tend to experience prolonged and more severe bullying interactions as a result.

To join in on Thursday Thirteen, go here

20 comments:

  1. Jodi Picoult's recent book, Nineteen Minutes, dealt with the results of bullying...great list!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is a great and informative list.
    I had no idea of the various forms of bullying. I was bullied and I bullied in return in school. I think the way the school system was set up back then was bullying... having that nasty picking of teams. The same people were asked last and it was very demeaning to those people. I was one of them usually.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is something anyone with kids worries about. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Bullying is a lack of self esteem!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous12:57 PM

    I think bullying happened even way back when I went to school. But kids need to be socialized and behaviors like that shouldn't be tolerated. It's not good for the victims or the bullys.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous1:42 PM

    Informative list! So far I haven't had any problems at my kids schools, but when I was younger there was more bullying. Maybe they are getting more strick on it. Zero tolerance.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I went through a bullying incident with my son. It was frustrating, but when we got tough and went to the school principal, it stopped. Like THAT.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous3:04 PM

    My children's school is very aware of bullying & they do a lot to combat it, which is a real relief for me. Excellent list

    ReplyDelete
  9. What an important TT! I wish bullying was limited to kids, but it's not. A friend of a friend uses her blog to really go off on others. She feels more powerful at the keyboard than she does in real life. But this woman is in her 40s and a TEACHER! Still she gleefully "rants" and "gets" those who disagree with her. My friend has tried to convince she isn't "really" like that and that I'd like her, I turn off. Like your post says, bullying is not a natural human condition. I think it's despicable. Thanks for shedding new light on it.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Bullying is a terrible thing. I was a victim as a child. I guess it's because I was so darn shy. I grew out of that pretty darn fast once I entered high school. Thanks for stopping by my TT today. I wasn't saying it was spring yet in my parts. I really wish it was. I'm tired of all this snow. I was just listing 13 things that I love about my spring mornings. That is when spring finally arrives. LOL! I live in Michigan. Not to far from your part of the country.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Great list! Unfortunately, adults do it too.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Excellent list.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I was a victim of school ground bullying that reached into my high school years. It is abhorrent behavior and I think it is most important to give facts like these out so that people are aware that it even goes on. Thank you! and a Happy TT to you :

    ReplyDelete
  14. Thanks for all this info Brab. It's always great to know what could happen when you have children in school.

    ReplyDelete
  15. For some reason I seemed to clue into the fact that all the bullies were actually cowards, even when I was a kid. I intervened many times as a child, which your #11 illustrates. Peer interaction shines a light on the behavior, which evaporates if it has to continue without the 'cloaking device' of secrecy.

    Great T13!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Great list! As a former teacher, I recognized many of these.

    PS, I love your scrapping style!

    Thanks for visiting my T13.

    Happy Thursday

    ReplyDelete
  17. Great post and one that all parents should read. Happy TT and thanks for stopping by:)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous3:34 AM

    Even worse, sometimes it happens under a teacher's nose and the teacher decides to take the easy option and pretend it isn't happening.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Sorry for being so late stopping by.

    This is an excellent post. My daughter was the victim of bullying 10 years ago, and the school administration just added to it--in the wake of Columbine, they'd decided that kids who are bullied are dangerous, and should be punished. Because the taunts made her cry, and the girls taunting her said "oh, I suppose now you're going to blow up the school," she was suspended for the last two weeks of school, despite our arguments. Nothing happened to the bullies. It still makes me see red.

    Thank goodness we're in a different school district now.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Unfortunately, a lot of bulying, especially by the girls, is done in front of an adult. Nothing is often done since it is seen as teasing or joking around.

    Bullying is a consistent behaviour happening over time and this is why it is difficult to detect. Is it really "boys will by boys" or has it gone further than that? How about our own children when they complain about a brother or sister hitting them. Is it a one time thing or is it consistent behaviour?

    It certainly is a challenge.

    ReplyDelete

thanks for taking the time to comment on my blog. I appreciate the comment and will be sure to stop by and visit your blog.