A Focus on Bullying

“Bullying is a form of aggressive behavior characterized by intent to harm, repeated occurrence and an imbalance of power between the bully and the victim.”-Alberti Center for Bullying Abuse Prevention.

More and more children and teens suffer from being bullied, and the sad truth is that less and less are speaking out about it. It has become an epidemic, and is undoubtedly damaging to those who have suffered from bullying. It leads to depression and an inability to form and maintain relationships.

Laws and zero tolerance policies have been created in an effort to prevent bullying; however, researchers say there is limited evidence that shows these policies reduce bullying. A center in the University of Buffalo is dedicated to helping educators and parents understand bullying. The center has developed effective tools to change the language, attitudes and behaviors of educators, parents, students and society have on bullying. The more people understand bullying, where it happens most, and the likely victims and bullies, the more it can be prevented.

Researchers found that most people, such as educators and parents, deal with bullying by only focusing on disciplinary consequences, rather than taking preventative measures. The center, the only one nationwide, creates presentations and toolkits that help parents and educators better understand bullying and how to better prevent such abuse. These prevention efforts include integrating bullying awareness into the class curriculum, having schools implement a whole-school anti-bullying policy, and increasing adult supervision where bullying is most likely to occur.

Bullying takes away from a child’s ability to learn better and limits their success in all areas of a child’s life. The best way to stop bullying from happening is to be more aware in order to prevent it. All children should always be encouraged to speak out if they are being bullied, and if they witness another peer being bullied.

For more information on this topic, click here.

For more information on the Alberti Center for Bullying Abuse Prevention website, click here.