Bullying is repeated verbal, physical, social or psychological behaviour that is harmful and involves the misuse of power by an individual or group towards one or more persons. It can be obvious or hidden (covert) and can have long-term effects on those involved. Bullying can happen:
· face-to-face (e.g. pushing, tripping, name-calling)
· at a distance (e.g. spreading rumours, excluding someone)
· electronic communication (e.g. SMS, email, messenger, facebook and other social media).
Some conflicts between children are a normal part of growing up and are to be expected. These conflicts or fights between equals and single incidents are not considered bullying, even though they may be upsetting and need to be resolved. Identifying bullying can sometimes be difficult. Bullying is often conducted out of sight of teachers. Children are often reluctant to report bullying. Bullying can be devastating for a person’s confidence and self-esteem. Children and young people need lots of love and support if they are being bullied. They also need to know that action will be taken to prevent any further bullying. For more information on bullying and cyberbullying visit the Raising Children Network http://raisingchildren.net.au
Bullying - Useful Links
· www.bullyingnoway.gov.au provides information for parents on bullying, harassment, discrimination and violence in schools.
· www.bzaf.org.au/ Bully Zero Australia Foundation’s vision is to protect and empower Australian children and adolescents to live a fulfilling life free from all forms of bullying.
· www.ncab.org.au The National Centre Against Bullying is creating caring communities for children.
For parenting information related to bullying and cyberbullying visit the Raising Children Network www.raisingchildren.net.au
Bullying - Talk To School Staff
If your child is being bullied, involve the school as quickly as you can. Our School takes bullying extremely seriously and we will work with you to try to prevent further bullying. Tell your child you will talk to the school. The school staff will assess the situation with you, and focus first on protecting the victim. Then they will look at changing the bullying behaviour and deterring others from bullying. The actions taken by the school will depend on the circumstances of the bullying and on the children involved. Some key points
· Discuss the problem with the class teacher or year coordinator.
· Ask for the teacher’s views.
· Be assertive, not angry or accusatory.
· End the meeting with a plan for how the situation will be managed.
· Keep in touch with the school.
Making contact with the bully or the bully’s parents directly is likely to make the situation worse. It is always safer to work with the school rather than to try to solve bullying on your own.
Bullying - Is Your Child A Bully?
When it comes to bullying behaviour, your child might be the one affected. Or – shocking as this might be – your child might be the one doing the bullying. Stepping in early is the key to helping your child learn how to get along with others. Signs your child may be bullying:
· your child has money, toys or other things that don’t belong to him/her or
· your child’s behaviour includes pushing other children who can’t defend themselves, saying nasty things about them, or generally making them feel bad.
These signs don’t mean your child is definitely bullying, but you might want to talk to your child’s teacher to find out if there have been any problems at school. If your child is bullying others you need to support and work with your child and the school (or organisation where the bullying is taking place) to ensure your child learns that bullying is unacceptable and that it must end. Children sometimes bully others when they are feeling unloved themselves, or they have low self-esteem or may experience violence or conflict at home. Give your child lots of love and support, help build their self-esteem and teach them how to develop healthy positive relationships. Set limits for your child and if they don’t stick within the limits use non-physical discipline as the consequence. For more information on spotting if your child is a bully and helping them to stop visit http://raisingchildren.net.au.
Bullying - Support For Your Child At Home
If your child is being bullied, you should always take action. Give your child as much support and love as you can at home, while you, the teacher and your child come up with a plan for fixing the bullying. Let your child know that the situation is not their fault, and it can be fixed. Talk to your child about some of the different ways of dealing with bullying behaviour and why these work. This will help your child feel more confident and less powerless about being bullied. Some ideas:
· Ignore it and move away from the bully. Encourage your child to physically remove themselves from children who are teasing or bullying.
· Tell the bully to stop. Standing up to bullies in a calm way lets them know that what they are trying to do is not working.
· Avoid high-risk places. By keeping away from situations where bullying occurs, your child can avoid the attention of bullies – as long as they are not missing out on activities because of this.
· Stay around other people. It can help to have others around to protect your child if they are feeling threatened.
· Ask other people for support. Others probably understand what your child is going through and are likely to help if needed. Bullies are less likely to strike if they can see that your child has backup.
· Tell the teacher. Your teacher will be able to help your child deal with the problem, and come up with a plan. The bully might not even know that the teacher is helping your child.
For more information on bullying and cyberbullying visit the Raising Children Network http://raisingchildren.net.au/
