Photo credit: Psychologies Magazine (http://www.psychologies.co.uk/)
You might think your child is too young for you to worry about bullying, but we need to start bully prevention as early as preschool age. We need to teach children of all ages to create an emotionally safe world.
Check out the following bullying statistics which affirm why school principals and summer camp directors need to have a plan to ensure their students and campers have an emotionally safe environment.
There are many forms of bullying including the following types of behavior:
- Physical bullying – hitting, kicking, pinching, punching, scratching, spitting, damaging or taking someone else’s belongings.
- Verbal bullying – name calling, insulting, making racist, sexist or homophobic jokes, teasing, sexually suggestive, abusive language, or offensive remarks.
- Indirect bullying– spreading rumors or stories, excluding others from social groups.
- Cyber bullying – sending abusive mail, email and/or text messages, sending bullying pictures/videos via cell phone, phone call bullying, chat-room or IM bullying, or bullying via websites.
The following statistics provided by the National Education Association show the far-reaching consequences of bullying:
- Six out of 10 American teenagers witness bullying in school once a day.
- Bullying affects nearly one in three American schoolchildren in grades six through 10.
- Eighty-three percent of girls and 79 percent of boys report experiencing harassment.
Some of the fears and stressors of students who are the targets of bullying include:
- Fear of going to school.
- Fear of using the bathroom.
- Fear of the bus ride to and from school.
- Physical symptoms of illness.
- Diminished ability to learn.
Additional facts provided by the National Education include:
- Bullying can escalate into more serious behavior.
- Boys identified as bullies in grades six through nine had one criminal conviction by age 24.
- Forty percent of those identified had three or more arrests by age 30. Bullies are at even greater risk of suicide than their targets.
- Bullies often grow up to perpetuate family violence.
The NEA supports state, district, and school policies created to prevent and respond effectively to bullying and harassment. They provide lesson plans, classroom management tips, teaching strategies including articles and resources, and advice and support pertaining to bullying on their website.
The NEA also offers a Take the Pledge: Stand Up For Bullied Students campaign, NEA’s Bully Free: It Starts With Me. The campaign provides caring adults with the opportunity to fill out a form pledging to help bullied students.
Teenagers and young adults often care for our little ones at summer camps. These counselors are dealing with the same bully issues as the campers are. This is why I have created my Prevent Bullying at Camp training. Having an emotionally safe environment starts with how the counselors interact with each other and with their campers. Summer camps all over the world can have access to this training either live or through my DVD, which includes a full keynote presentation and my personal voice-over of in depth explanations, tips, and stories. You can learn more about this DVD here. Check it out today.
I appreciate you reading my blog. Be sure to check back next week for the next blog in my bullying series, Are Bullies Mystical Creatures. Please leave your feedback or questions in the comments area below. We would love to hear what you think!
Also, don’t forget that the Teaching Tots to Teens to Create a Bully Free World teleseminar is replaying for the ENTIRE month of April. The teleseminar costs only $15 and childcare providers can earn EEC hours. CLICK HERE to secure your spot!
