BULLYING PREVENTION

What is Bullying?

Bullying can be defined legally as acts of written or spoken words that are meant to intimidate or harm a person including their property.

Types of Bullying?

  1. Verbal bullying is saying or writing mean things. Verbal bullying includes:

    • Teasing

    • Name-calling

    • Inappropriate sexual comments

    • Taunting

    • Threatening to cause harm

  2. Social bullying, sometimes referred to as relational bullying, involves hurting someone’s reputation or relationships. Social bullying includes:

    • Leaving someone out on purpose

    • Telling other children not to be friends with someone

    • Spreading rumors about someone

    • Embarrassing someone in public

  3. Physical bullying involves hurting a person’s body or possessions. Physical bullying includes:

    • Hitting/kicking/pinching

    • Spitting

    • Tripping/pushing

    • Taking or breaking someone’s things

    • Making mean or rude hand gestures

  4. Types of Bullying

    http://www.ncschoolcounselor.org/Resources/Documents/Responsive%20Services%20Docs/Bullying%20Prevention/types%20of%20bullying.pdf

Aggressive and unwanted behavior is another way of defining bullying among school aged children. It can seen as a real or even perceived form of gaining power. It is not a one time occurrence but happens repetitively, over time. (definition by stopbullying.gov).

In order to be considered bullying, the behavior must be aggressive and include:

  • An Imbalance of Power: Kids who bully use their power — such as physical strength, access to embarrassing information, or popularity — to control or harm others. Power imbalances can change over time and in different situations, even if they involve the same people.

  • Repetition: Bullying behaviors happen more than once or have the potential to happen more than once.