Child bullying is a commonly found but a serious problem and almost every child faces in his or her childhood. Bullying is more than teasing, when teasing is repeatedly done to anyone, it converts in bullying. A Recent survey shows that more than fifty percent children are the victims of bullying and more than fifteen percent are victim of bullying on a regular basis during their study years in the schools. This paper discusses the problem of child bullying, several related aspects of the issue and what are the provisions which can help in solving the issue.
Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education said “Bullying is very much an education priority that goes to the heart of school performance and school culture, Schools can have an enormous impact on reducing bullying. Ideally, all schools should have a code of conduct that sends a message to the students, staff, and community that it has high expectations for them and little tolerance for cruelty and disrespect." This ill behavior is found in physical as well as in verbal form. Generally, boys have a tendency to involve in the physical and verbal form while girls usually have been reported to involve in verbal bullying. In the recent times, the incidents of bullying have also been reported on the social sites like facebook, orkut, and several other sites along with on the phones. The bullying affects the psyche of the children badly. They suffer from several problems during the bullying and incidents have been reported where the children have also committed suicides. A research team of several experts and doctors from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development say on the basis of their researches that the problem is growing day by day and if extensive attention is not paid, it may aggravate to a very dangerous situation.
Psychologists have done several studies on the ongoing trend and found that this behavior is found in the children those are dominating in nature and are dissatisfied due to one or more reasons. They release their frustration and anger on the other students or children. They select the children who are usually weak and introvert. Bullying is like a two edged sword and it affects the adolescents who have a tendency to harass other children and it also affects the children who is bullied. National Institutes of Health has done several studies on the subject, the research reports suggest that the Bullying is a behavioral crisis which is required to be treated as soon as this has been reported in any single incident. Duane Alexander, M.D. and Director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development say "It appears that bullying is not an isolated behavior, but a sign that children may be involved in more violent behaviors, The implication is that children who bully other children may benefit from programs seeking to prevent not just bullying, but other violent behaviors as well." The issue should be seriously negotiated with the children and in this method the help of the teachers, parents, and friends is required. If the problem seems to be bigger, then the services of an expert or psychologist are recommended. The problem can be removed through a proper consultation at the initial stage.
Duane Alexander, M.D., director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development says "Being bullied is not just an unpleasant rite of passage through childhood; it is a public health problem that merits attention. People who were bullied as children are more likely to suffer from depression and low self esteem, well into adulthood, and the bullies themselves are more likely to engage in criminal behavior later in life." Children spend a fair time in the school and this is the place where bullying starts and such incident start repeating. The problem is that there is nobody in the school from the family and the children hesitate to share their problems with the teachers and classmates. The teachers can help the children but only if they are approached with any complaint or incident of bullying. In this regard the teachers should be more vigilant towards the students and keep their attention on them. If the teachers find or know any student who has a tendency to bully others, the student should be given more attention to control his habit.
If a teacher finds any student with the objectionable behavior, the teacher should immediately contact the parents of the student and they can work out a good plan together to improve the behavior of that particular student with the bullying behavior. If the parents observe any bullying behavior in their son or daughter, they should approach the school and discuss the issue with the teachers. Teacher and parents can solve the issue together by tracing the roots of the problem and by negotiating the issue with the affected parties.
The parents should keep observing the activities of their son and daughter in the home and should also keep an eye on them while they are in the playground with their friends. Their friends are very important for them as the children spend a large amount of time with friends. The children share a lot of things with their friends and more importantly their friends know that who is bullying whom and at what points. It is necessary to understand that at which part of his personality or habit, other children are bullying. Is it his weakness, passiveness or something else. After knowing the reason, the parents should not only try to remove that particular thing from the personality of the child but also try to persuade him or her on that particular issue if it not possible to get the same removed. Sometimes it is the physical structure or the disability which is difficult to remove, in such cases the parents should make every effort so that the child does not get depressed .
After having observed the problem of child bullying, several related aspects of the child bullying and a detailed analysis of the subject, it is good to say that a proper attention by the parents and the school is a solution that can cure this behavioral crisis among the adolescents. This disorder can grow among the children and turn into a violent behavior which becomes uncontrollable in the later times. Parents and teachers can help the adolescents in making them strong enough to face any kind of tolerable jokes but also they should have the power to resist when someone tries to bully them.
References
Beane, A. L. (2008). Protect Your Child from Bullying: Expert Advice to Help You Recognize . New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human. (2011, September 13). Retrieved December 22, 2011, from www.nichd.nih.gov: http://www.nichd.nih.gov/news/resources/spotlight/092110-taking-stand-against-bullying.cfm
Harris, U. (2010). What's Ailing You Child? Bullying. North Carolina: Lulu Enterprises Inc.
Peter L. Shera and Sherill Tippins. (2002). Your child: bully or victim? : understanding and ending school yard tyranny. Unitrd States of America: skylight Press.
