Bullying is not a new phenomena; we all have seen bullies, known bullies or have been bullied at some point in our lives. There are bullies of all ages in this world! Does that make it okay....NO WAY!! The video above is a reminder of how bullying is still around!!
What is new is the technology we now use and the way it's being used to bully children. Bullying is in our child's school, on their computer, on their cellphone!! There is no escaping bullying...in years gone by one could walk away from the bully and not allow a bully access to our lives 24/7! Not so today. Now, in no way am I saying technology is bad...it was a lifesaver while I was doing graduate work, provides unlimited research opportunities, keeps me connected to family and friends and my list can go on and on.
My request is simple...we need to be aware of what is going on in the lives of our children, grandchildren, students...the lives of the children around us. It's important we provide them with an outlet...someone they can go to, talk with and give them knowledge on actions they can take when faced with any bullying situation!
There are different estimates of how often children are bullied or engage in bullying:
- According to the American Medical Association, 3.7 million youths engage in bullying, and more than 3.2 million are victims of “moderate” or “serious” bullying each year (Cohn & Canter, 2003).
- Some studies have shown that between 15 and 25 percent of U.S. students are frequently bullied; 15 to 20 percent report that they bully others frequently (Nansel et al., 2001; Melton et al., 1998; Geffner, Loring, & Young, 2001).
- Over the course of a year, nearly one-fourth of students across grades reported that they had been harassed or bullied on school property because of their race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or disability (Austin, Huh-Kim, Skage, & Furlong, 2002).
- Almost 30 percent of youth in the United States (or over 5.7 million) are estimated to be involved in bullying as either a bully, a target of bullying, or both. In a national survey of students in grades 6 to 10, 13 percent reported bullying others, 11 percent reported being the target of bullies, and another 6 percent said that they bullied others and were bullied themselves (Nansel et al., 2001).
- Seventy-four percent of eight- to eleven-year-old students said teasing and bullying occur at their schools (Kaiser Family Foundation & Nickelodeon, 2001).
- Every seven minutes, a child on an elementary playground is bullied (Pepler, Craig, & Roberts, 1998).
When and Where Does Bullying Usually Occur?
- It occurs at early ages and in all grades, with an onset between three and four years of age (Byrne, 1994a, 1994b).
- In the United States, it increases for boys and girls during late elementary years, peaks during the middle school years, and decreases in high school (Hoover, Oliver, & Hazler, 1992; Banks, 1997; Garrett, 2003).
- Physical severity may decrease with age (Sharp & Smith, 1994).
- At the start of the school year, bullies begin looking for easy targets.
- It occurs two to three times more often at school than on the trip to and from school (Olweus, 1995).
- It is most likely to occur where there is no adult supervision, inadequate adult supervision, poor supervision, a lack of structure, and few or no anti-bullying rules; it is also more likely to occur where teachers and students accept bullying or are indifferent to it (Beane, 2008).
- It occurs virtually everywhere: in homes, nursery schools, preschools, elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, neighborhoods, churches, city parks, on the trip to and from school, on the streets, and in the workplace, for example. It occurs in large cities and small towns, large schools and small schools—and even one-room schools in other countries (Olweus, 1995).
- It occurs mainly in hidden areas and areas lacking adult supervision: halls, stairwells, the playground, areas where students take brief breaks, between buildings, restrooms, locker rooms, the cafeteria, on buses, and parking lots; it occurs when students are walking to and from school, but also in classrooms
http://www.cyberbullying.us/index.php
http://www.olweus.org/public/bullying.page
http://www.stopbullying.gov/
http://www.education.com/topic/school-bullying-teasing/http://www.bullying.org/http://www.bullyfree.com/free-resources/facts-about-bullying
Download a free e-Book on bullying
