Bullying Pelham City Middle School Tyler Anderson

What is bullying? Harassment, intimidation or bullying (HIB) is any intentional written, verbal, or physical act against another individual as a show of power.

True or False? Bullying is male behavior. Once a bully always a bully. Bullying is a normal part of growing up, mostly just teasing. Bullies are loners, usually insecure and have few friends. Bullying does not have a long term effect on children.

Research Shows……. 60 % of boys identified as bullies in grades 6 to 9 had one criminal conviction and 40% had three or more. Those identified as bullies at age 8 had a one in four chance of having a criminal record by 30. (Norm is one in 20) (Eron and Huessman, 1987) Emotional stress from bullies can create deficits in a child’s intellectual abilities. (Goleman, 1995) Bullying also interferes with academic development,and social and personal development. (Craig and Peplar, 1996)

Dynamics of Bullying Social Culture B C E F AG Bully Follower Supporter Disengaged onlooker Passive defender Defender D Passive Supporter T Target

Is my child being bullied? Changes in behavior, attitude or appearance Refusal to go to school; play sick Skip activities that involve other students May suddenly begin to lose money or possessions, have torn clothes with explanations that do not make sense

Cyberbullying is bullying or harassment that happens online. Text Messages Online games Comments on a social networking site (Facebook, MySpace, Twitter) Rumors or images posted on someone’s profile or passed around for others to see; creating a group or page to make a person feel left out. Cyberbullying

What do I do about Bullying and Cyberbullying?

Bullying Talk about it Walk Away Don’t hit back Tell an adult Find a friend Teach empathy and perception

Cyberbullying Be nosy! Tell them not to respond to the bully. Block or delete the friend

Who & When do I tell? Teasing or bullying? If teasing continues and escalates, it becomes HIB. Provide students a safe means to report bullying. Students need to tell when they experience or witness a problem that they can not resolve - when what they try does not work or someone is in danger.

Some things to think about… Do you encourage your children to stand up for themselves and could their assertiveness be construed as bullying? Are you confrontational? Are you critical of teaching staff in front of your child? Do you try to work with the school on problems? Do you tell your children to hit back? Are you aggressive if another parent complaints to you about bullying? Do you give your children space to talk about things that may be upsetting them?

Model the behavior you expect!