National Stop Bullying Day
By: Alyssa Riege, MA, LMHC-A
In October, students, teachers, and parents across the nation observe National Stop Bullying Day. This is to help bring awareness to the fact that bullying exists and try to prevent bullying from occurring. Across the United States, 1-in-5 12-18 year olds experience some form of bullying. Bullying is more likely to happen to people in 6th grade, but it is more underreported in individuals in high school. There are various forms of bullying, and it can have many different effects on the victims. It’s important to understand what different forms of bullying look like and what effects it can have to know what to be on the lookout for in the victims.
Forms of Bullying
Physical: Physical bullying is the most straightforward form of bullying. This can include, but is not limited to, punching, slapping, kicking, biting, pinching, and hair pulling. Threats of physical bullying, such as “I will beat you up if you don’t give me your lunch,” are also common.
Verbal: This is the broadest form of bullying. This includes emotional and racial bullying. Examples of verbal bullying are name calling, taunting, making racial slurs, mocking someone’s culture, and teasing.
Social: Social bullying affects relationships in the victim’s lives. This includes excluding someone from friend groups or plans, spreading rumors, and embarrassing someone publicly.
Cyber: Cyberbullying has quickly become the most common form of bullying. It consists of using phones or computers to harass, torment, threaten, embarrass, or humiliate someone else through text messages, emails, social media, and other platforms.
Sexual: This consists of unwanted physical contact or remarks. It can also be considered sexual harassment, depending on the contact or remarks.
Effects of Bullying
All forms of bullying can have some type of effect on children. Their social life, academics, and self-image can be affected. This could lead to mental health problems such as anxiety, depression, substance use, and suicidal thoughts or behaviors. Signs to look out for in victims of bullying are anger, stress, isolation, negative comments about self, changes in sleep or eating patterns, avoidance of school or social obligations, poor academic performance, and self-injury. Victims of bullying may also have physical marks on their bodies or health complications.
How Can You Help?
Whether you are a parent, caretaker, grandparent, teacher, or someone who is a part of a kid’s life in some way or another, it is important to know how you can help stop bullying. There are a few different ways you can help!
1) Educate kids. Make sure you are talking to your kids about what bullying is and how it can look so they will be more aware if it is happening to them or to someone they know.
2) Talk to your kids often. Kids will be more likely to tell you if they are being bullied or if they witness bullying if you have an open line of communication with them.
3) Be a positive role model. If your kids see you treating people with respect and kindness, they will be more likely to show that to other kids. This includes speaking up when people around you are being mistreated so they know it is okay to talk about if someone is being bullied.
4) Monitor their online presence. Be a part of their online experiences and make sure you know what platforms they are using, how they are using those platforms, and what they are saying on those platforms. It could be beneficial to explain to them that what they say online can affect people in real life.