BULLYING...YOU MUST SPEAK UP

In case you haven't noticed Bullying is a growing problem in today's society. It seems to be affecting every city and every country around the world.

Let's define what Bullying and a Bully are? A Bully by definition is a person who is habitually cruel or overbearing, usually to smaller and weaker people. Bullies have no gender specifics. Bullies can be male or female, they can be young or old. Bullies choose the smaller and weaker people to intimidate and abuse, because they feel these people will not retaliate or speak up.

Most Bullies in today's society do not work alone. They will brainwash a few of their peers into helping them Bully others. You see, it is always easier to attack one person when you have 3 or 4 of your friends to help you.

Bullying includes some of the following characteristics such as punching, pushing, kicking, name calling, intimidation, and mental abuse (making fun of someone). As important as it is to look for signs of your child being Bullied, it is just as important to look for sign that would be showing a child is becoming a Bully. These signs include aggression, anger, rebellious act, and other violent traits. These are only a few signs to look for, there are hundreds more.

Let's try and reason why a child (or adult) becomes a Bully in the first place? You will find most Bullies do not have the happiest of home lives, for whatever reason. These children are made to feel inferior at home either by their parents, siblings, or other family members. Try to keep in mind we are all products of our environments. So these Bullies, that are made to feel inferior at home, turn to intimidating others (smaller and weaker) to make themselves feel stronger and superior and important. It is not unusual for a child or teenager, that is pron to Bullying, to have the need to be recognized as a somebody. This is because somewhere inside of them they have the feeling (that most likely comes from home) that they are a nobody. The lack of a loving home and parents, the desire for material possessions, or the want of a better education are all trigger points for these Bullies.

So how come certain kids or children are targeted by Bullies? We have already pointed out the reason of being smaller and weaker. But there is another key reason that kids are targeted. That reason is being different. Or at least different in the eyes of the Bully. I hear all the time that children are being Bullied because they dress a certain way, they act a certain way, they have different beliefs then others, they are involved in different functions. These Bullies target these children who show any type of individualism. Also keep in mind that these Bullies have no specific limits to their reasons of why they do what they do. They just need the feeling of being superior.

It is probable fair to say that for every child that reports being Bullied, there are ten more that haven't and won't say a word. Why? The biggest reason that most children will not speak up and tell someone they are being Bullied is FEAR. A fear of multiple things actually. They are fearful that if they do tell someone they may just be brushed off as a tattle tail or cry baby. They are fearful that they will not be believed. They are fearful that if the Bully finds out and nothing is done, they will be Bullied even worse. We must understand that when a child is Bullied their self-confidence is being broken and this alone can lead to even more serious problems later in life.

Most of us have seen in the news lately the number of child and teenage suicides, caused by being Bullied. These children, for whatever reason, thought there was no other way to stop the Bullying and felt they were not getting the help they needed. THIS MUST STOP!! Even though in today's society Bullying is becoming seen as more of a major problem, if it is not stopped we already know the devastating consequences that will follow.

Bullying is responsible for more then just physical harm. It is also responsible for psychological, emotional, and health problems that may be overlooked. We are not just talking about short term health issues either. Long after the Bullying has stopped people can still suffer from anxiety, stress, and low self-esteem problems.

So how do we stop Bullies and children from being Bullied? The answer to this question is not as clear as some might think. There will always be people that will attempt to Bully others, but we, ourselves, and our children must remember that we have the power to stop it.

But to stop it, the fear factor must be overcame. There is a statistic that shows if someone is afraid of a dog, they are 80% more likely to be bitten by the dog. That stat rings true for the Bullies as well. If the Bully knows you are fearful of them, they are more likely to keep on Bullying.

Now we are not advocating violence. No,that is not the solution to the problem. The solution is telling. Tell everyone. If you are being Bullied, make sure you tell your parents as well as the school authorities, if that is where it is taking place (even if that is not where it is taking place, the school authorities need to know). To the parents, you must make sure the Bullying is looked into and dealt with accordingly. If you feel that it is not being handled properly or the way you think it should be, then you tell. Go tell the local media. Local media outlets are very useful in alerting the public of a problem. Usually once it makes it to the media the problem is resolved, unfortunately it may have to take that long to find resolution. BUT most importantly is to make sure YOU ARE HEARD.

The worst thing that you can do is nothing. To think the problem will just go away, is actually only making the problem worse.

Here locally there have been reports of Bullying at certain middle schools, the name of the school will be withheld for the time being. These incidents were brought to our attention and hopefully we can help resolve the issue.

The incidents that have occurred were on school grounds and were reported to the parents and school authorities. That is the first step of finding resolution to this matter. The problem is the incidents keep re-occurring even after school authorities have been notified and are aware. This is unacceptable. We are asking anyone with a child at a school here locally to please contact us here in the comments section with any incidents of Bullying you may know about, but the general public does not. The second thing we are asking is if you have a child in a school, whether it be elementary, middle school, or high school, to please contact them and inform them that Bullying is not acceptable. Just inform them that you are making sure that the school is doing their part to put an end to this growing problem, because we are doing are part at home. 

Only together can we put a stop this growing problem. ONE PHONE CALL WILL BE ANSWERED BUT ONE HUNDRED PHONE CALLS WILL BE HEARD....