Bullying “Words will never hurt me” used to be just an expression, but now bullying has gotten so bad that words really do hurt, this is known as “bullicide”. Many children, teens, and even some adults are victims of physical, verbal, or cyber bullying. Bullying affects victims negatively and can sometimes lead to suicide. Children, parents, and teachers need to work to prevent and end bullying. Bullying is a serious issue that has numerous causes and effects that can sometimes be life changing. Bullying is a serious problem today. Bullying is any kind of mistreatment done with an intent to harm someone. In true bullying there is an imbalance of power. Usually the bully is bigger, older, more popular, or stronger. Bullies use their
Bullies pick on people who already have a low self-esteem and poor self image so they can dominate them. Some people are victimized because they have an over protective family, they might be thought of as a “momma’s boy”. Also bullies target people because of weight, ethnicity, sexual preference or other characteristics (Winkler 27-31; “Bullying Statistics”). To prevent bullying, parents need to watch for signs of bullying in their children. Some signs are unexplainable injuries, damaged clothing, frequently having “missing” or damaged personal items. Children being bullied are some times afraid to go to school and often find excuses to skip. Victims might be hurting themselves by cutting, burning, or starving themselves. Victims often loss interest in their friends. They appear to be moody, anxious, or depressed, and feel helpless and useless (“Bullying Statistics”). There are several ways to deal with bullies. Victims can walk away and just ignore the bully. Some victims are more positive than others and can make the teasing into a joke and just laugh with the bully. Confidence is the key to end bullying. Bullies want power so victims must not give them any. Sometimes victims just need to make new friends who will defend them. One can always take legal action if bullying gets out of control (Winkler 77-85). If parents know their child is a victim of bullying they need to get involved. They can encourage their child to report the situation to a teacher.