Bullying
Bullying is a special kind of violence that tortures a child for no reason. Bullying is the case when a child is being hurt physically, emotionally and systematically, on a regular basis by several other children. Amongst other things these bullying events can include threats or actual punching, kicking, spitting, laughing at or ignoring somenone.
A main characteristic of bullying is that it usually happens when no one (especially no authority figure) is watching. People who bully others are quite good at manipulating others and might put blame on the victim. Additionally there is another phenomenon coming into play: victim-offenders: children who become easy targets due to their unmotivated, aggressive, and impulsive behavior. This can become difficult to distinguish between the victim and the offender especially if one does not observe well and smaller hints might not be noticeable
Consequences
The consequences of mental cruelty for children affect various areas of life and can be more or less pronounced:
- sleep disorder, nightmares
- panic attacks, anxiety disorders
- depression
- headaches, abdominal pain/nausea
- loss of appetite, eating disorders
- social isolation, self-doubt, feeling of loneliness
- worsening at school results
- suicidal thoughts, sucide
What to do
as legal guardians
preventative:
- strengthen confidence and social skills of the child
- being a role model for the child
- set rules and boundaries
- having a clear attitude against violence
in a specific situation:
- act together with the child/teenager and not insteaed of
- inform school and collect evidence
- avoid talking to the offenders or their legal guardians
- no apportioning blames
-
get help from a specialist departement
Informationsquelle: www.kapo.zh.ch
In principle the rule is:
Bullying won't stop by itself
Bullying is all our business. There is no such thing as univolved
Bullying can only be stopped longterm with help of adults