Bullying - How to Recognize the Symptoms of a Victim

Great Topic Beth , This topic is gaining attention rapidly now , openly discussed more , proactive measures are being placed in Schools . With bullying gaining attention especially as it spans social media now , people are recognizing bullying tactics quicker also handling them quicker .

Luke Nother

What is Bullying?

What is bullying? “Bullying is when someone keeps doing or saying things to have control over another person” (definition). Some of the ways they bully people are by calling them names, saying or bad things about them, leaving them out of activities, not talking to them, threatening them, making them feel bad about themselves, breaking their things, hitting them, or making them do things they don't want to do.

There are a lot of reasons why some people bully. They see it as a way of being popular, or making themselves look good. Some bullies do it to get attention, or to make other people afraid of them. Others might be jealous of the person they are bullying. They may be bullied.

Some young people are bullied for no reason at all, but sometimes it's because they are different. It can be the color of their skin, the way they talk, their size or their name. Most of the time people are bullied because they won't stand up for themselves.

Why is bullying a bad thing? Some people think bullying is just part of growing up and a way for young people to learn to fight for themselves. But it’s wrong. It makes people feel unsafe. They also lose a lot of self-esteem and might not want to go to school any more.

(http://www.nobully.org.nz/advicek.htm)

What a terrific hub on a most important topic. Bullying is far too prevalent and your thoughts on the topic are extremely accurate. As you mentioned, most bullies have previously been victims of some sort of bullying themselves. I was an assistant principal for 5 years and had to deal with several cases of bullying. They were extremely difficult to deal with and to eliminate. In my state of Massachusetts, we had the terrible tragedy of the Phoebe Prince incident, the ultimate tragedy resulting from bullying. Kudos to you, Beth100, for bringing more attention to this topic. Voted up and useful.

My 6yr old child is being physically bullied by a group of children. What i dont understand is that these children are admitting to what they are being accused of (but playing it down) and are still doing it 2 wks down the line after the head was informed and to me she is getting my child to come in after break and asking him if anything happened which is a joke because he has told me he doesn't trust the school and how can a 6yr old clearly tell what is going on, also his confidence is low and he is also a scared lil boy. I know this is still going on because some days he has lots of bruises and they back up what he told me, i look after when he is in his pants for bed. I mean he told me fri that he was pushed over and then kicked, he told me he couldn't remember where he had been kicked but last night i found under his fringe a bruise in the middle of his head, he still says he doesn't know!! The head also told me she thinks this is just kids playing and taking things too far, could this be a possibility? 4 wks down the line with the same children. These horrid children are 5 and have just come out to the big playground this year.

Bullying is a chronic problem in schools wherever you go. Many kids keep quiet about the fact they are bullied.

I hope this article will be read by a whole lot of people, Beth100. I like how you've given attention in little bits - to each aspect about bullying. This makes your hub very easy to understand, very clear. Thanks for writing! *thumbsup*

Bullies do unto others as they have had done onto them and that unfortunately usually takes place in their home environment in the early, formative years. These individuals feel powerless and therefore exercise the methods they have learned from role models and visit the negative behaviour on others. It is important,as a parent to listen in between the lines of your child's communication as bullying can be very covert and also very difficult to confront and not take personally. Bullying is something that we, as a society, have to confront and deal with to the very best of our ability. Awareness is the first step. Congratulations on your writing on this topic!

wow, this is a very good hub. having been a victim myself to bullies, i've learned that bullies at heart are cowards. they have low self esteem, so to make themselves feel better they pick on people to build up their own lack of confidence. as deep down, most of them are so used to their victims not fighting back, that many don't know how to fight.

bullying does come in many forms. i remember i used to get beat up all the time by bullies in school. even in my senior year, at high school, i was picked on by everyone even freshman. however, it wasn't until recently, I finally stood up to a bully that was pestering me. he angered me so much that........well i won't go into details, but you get the point. never before was i so angry as im usually a pacifist in real life, but when he was constantly making fun of me, i lost my self control. i can't even hurt my own dog to scold him, as i usually hold myself back when i get angry. however, this situation was different. all i can say is, he never messed with me again as he knew better after that.

This is a very good hub, since our children face this at some point in their lives. I forwarded it onto others. Excellent info. Thanks

Thank you for sharing this Beth! I noticed too that bullying can also be verbal bullying as well. I've seen that more often as a kid than physical bullying. Verbal bullying hurts even more, I believe, and is much more difficult to detect. Words can hurt a lot. Believe me, I know.