Bullying

Bullying among Children in Schools

Each day millions of children go to school and there a some of them who dread waking up to go. Bullying affects the lives of millions of children across the world and has become an issue of worry for everyone involved and not just the victimized child. Bullying is a phenomenon when a person is picked on repetitively by others who has an increased power, may it be in terms of social standing or more commonly physical strength. This behavior causes an imbalance of power and makes the person feel victimized.


Bullying can take on various forms such as threats, verbal harassment, causing embarrassment and shame or physical assault. This form of violence may be directed towards people from certain grounds such as gender, caste, religion, race, ability or sexuality. Bullying is most commonly seen in schools, families, workplaces and neighborhoods. Bullying consists majorly of three forms such as verbal, physical and emotional.


Sometimes, bullies attack their victims, also called targets, physically and can be anything from shoving or pushing, punching or hitting to sexual assault. Some others may use psychological forms of assault such as verbal insults like swearing, making fun of or abusing, or gossiping, taunting or teasing the target. Verbal bullying may involve sending cruel messages or texts or posting about the target through cyber bullying.
Bullying may leave unseen scars on the target’s life. It may put the person in a state of being constantly scared. Most children may show physical and medical symptoms such as stomach pains and diarrhea or irritable bowel syndromes caused due to the stress of being bullied. Most research has shown that children who have been bullied are at a higher risk for mental health problems such as stress, anxiety, low self-esteem and most importantly depression. The victim may become aggressive in some cases and others may lack developed social skills, have negative thoughts, feel rejected by peers and family, face issues with solving social problems. There is also evidence that bullying can increase the risk of suicide.

What can be done to solve bullying? The tell-an-adult approach always the best method to help children and teenagers deal with bullying who can put an end to it. It is thus important for the target or the bullied victim to report it if it presents an impending threat or danger. Most children and teenagers have been seen to die due to threats or attacks so it is vital to not keep it unreported and silenced which may give the bully more leverage and freedom. 

What else can be done by the victim? It is not cowardly to ignore the bully and walk away. Indeed, it is first important thing to stop bullying from happening. The victim may get angry when such an event occurs and it is vital to control ad hold on to it because the bully should not sense fear and resentment so that they do not gain control over the victim’s emotions. Sometimes the bully can be thrown off guard by using humor instead of anger. The victim should never use physical force to respond to it and confidence must be practiced to deal with such situations.