National Bullying Prevention Month

Today may mark the end of National Bullying Prevention Month, but that doesn't mean our efforts to prevent bullying should end too. 

Many children and teenagers have a good idea of what bullying is because they see it every day. Bullying can have detrimental impacts on an individual that can last well into adulthood. For these reasons, along with many others, it is important to talk about bullying in order to aid in its prevention.  

​Did You Know?

• More than 1 out of every 5 students report being bullied.
• Canada has the 9th highest rate of bullying for 13-year-olds.
• Any participation in bullying increases the risk of suicidal ideation in youth.
• Girls are more likely to be bullied on the Internet than boys.
• The rate of bullying experienced among students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, two-spirited, or queer is three times higher than heterosexual youth.

 
The Four Most Common Types of Bullying:

• Verbal bullying: name-calling, teasing, spreading rumours, threatening, and making negative references to one’s culture, ethnicity, race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation.
• Social bullying: scapegoating, excluding peers from groups, humiliation with public gestures, or ganging up on others.
• Physical bullying: hitting, poking, pinching, chasing, shoving, coercing, destroying or stealing belongings, or unwanted touching.
• Cyber bullying: using the Internet or text messaging to intimidate, put-down, spread rumours, or make fun of someone.

 
Signs Someone You Know is Experiencing Bullying:

• Stomachaches
• Headaches
• Panic attacks
• Not being able to sleep or sleeping too much
• Physical signs such as wounds or bruising

• Feeling upset
• Lonely
• Frightened
• Lack of confidence
• No longer wanting to attend school
• Physical illness

 
Preventing Bullying: What Can You Do?
 
Kindness Matters

• One way to combat bullying is with kindness. While being kind might sound easy, it is actually complex. If kindness was simple, then everyone would be kind and very few people would experience bullying. Being kind means that you think about the needs and concerns of others, which may involve volunteering, helping others, and thinking about bigger issues that affect the community. Most importantly, teaching children to be kind to others has been known to decrease the risk of bullying.

 
Ways to Teach Kindness

• Mindfulness: Mindfulness involves becoming aware of a specific thought, emotion, or behaviour. Even young children can learn mindfulness. Mindfulness practices allow individuals to become more caring with others.
• Demonstrating Kindness: Teach kindness to others by focusing on cooperation, responsibility, self-control, empathy, and provide specific actions to build these skills. Ask open-ended questions, encourage children to work together, and use healthy conflict resolution.
• Random Acts of Kindness: Acts of kindness are actions that involve doing something nice for someone else. Acts of kindness have positive ripple effects on those who experience and witness kindness.

 
The Impact of Teaching Kindness

• Research has shown that children who perform three acts of kindness per week significantly increase their acceptance of peers compared to children who do not perform acts of kindness. Interestingly, children who are taught kindness are more empathic, socially aware, connected, and tend to receive higher grades.

 
Are You Experiencing Bullying?
 

• Speak with and confide in someone that you trust.
• Report the incident to your teacher, principal, guardian, or other adult.
• Spend your time with friends who you can count on to support and stand up for you.
• Appear confident, stand tall, hold your head high, make eye contact, speak firmly, and let the person who is bullying you know that the way they are treating you is not okay.
• Stand up for yourself without being aggressive; violence tends to make things worse.
• Remind yourself that you do not deserve to be bullied or harassed.

 
If you, or someone you know, is struggling with bullying please reach out for help. You can learn many ways to cope with and prevent bullying, no matter your age. Give us a call. The end of bullying begins with you.