Bullying - Why should we stand for bullying?

Is your child being bullied at school like many others are on a daily basis ? What is school bullying and why does it happen ?

Does your child try avoid school any way possible because they are being bullied ?

Bullying involves Psychological, emotional, cyber, social or physical harassment of one student by another at school or within the school community. This includes at school and within its grounds,during lunch break or in transit between school and their home, local shopping and sporting centres, at parties or local parks and in cyberspace. The playground is the most common place for bullying to occur and makes you wonder where the teachers are at this time .

Yet nowadays it has extended to SMS messages , Face book , videos placed on YouTube and more.

Bullying can be

Verbal abuse as well as being the most painful & longest lasting impact such as teasing, harassment and name-calling especially in front of others.

Extortion taking lunch money etc

Threats to hurt them

Malicious rumours

Physical violence

Damage to property and school work.

Remember that bullies are human just like we are, and everyone has something that bothers them. Find out what bothers your bully and focus on that any time they try to intimidate you. By realizing they're dealing with their own problems,maybe at home or an illness they are struggling to deal with & this may help you gain confidence you didn't know you had.

Get together in a large group and outnumber them as bullies usually have more than one victim at a time .

Be kind to them rather than let them see you upset as most bullies get their joy in watching you suffer, so if you show them that they don't have control over your moods, they may eventually leave you alone
If you continue to ignore them, they will eventually lose interest in you and move on to someone else. Talk to someone in authority at the school or if you are being bullied at your work place talk to a senior in charge. Some bullies are just too mean for any of the above tactics to work.

Instead of allowing yourself to continue being victimized, you should immediately tell someone in charge what is happening. If no one takes any notice at your school or work place let them know next time they attack, you will go to the media.

These days, there's a phone application for just about anything, from paying your bills to starting your car and now, stopping bullies. An Atlanta man decided he'd seen enough of kids bullying each other, and came up with a high-tech way to stop it.

With the push of a button, you can block calls, forward a harassing text message to a teacher or parent and even set up a recording to catch a bully on tape.

"If you block a bully once and they try to call you back and cloak or disguise their number, it's still blocked,"

 Casey Heynes has made the world news after standing up to a bullyTHERE are only so many times you can try to turn the other cheek.

A Sydney schoolboy has become an internet sensation after video emerged of him body-slamming another student during a verbal and physical attack, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Striking back for bullying victims everywhere, the Year 10 boy - who pleaded with his tormenter to leave him alone - picked up his attacker and slammed him to the ground.

The teenager, said to have been bullied all his school life, was backed up against a wall, taunted and punched by a younger, smaller boy.

The victim, identified on Facebook as Casey Heynes, took a hit to the face and then more blows as the Year 7 boy goaded him to fight.

Suddenly Casey had had enough. He launched himself at his attacker, picked him up and threw him to the ground.

The younger boy staggered away, stunned and hurt.

Both students were suspended for four days after the incident on Monday.

Footage of the fight at Chifley College, Dunheved Campus at North St Marys, was posted online and drew hundreds of comments on Facebook - mostly in support of Casey.

Casey's father said yesterday his son had been the victim of bullying for several years and feared for his safety if he spoke about the fight.

"There'll be reprisals from other kids in the school and he still has to go to school somewhere," he said.

"He's not a violent kid, it's the first time he's lashed out and I don't want him to be victimised over that.

While I don't condone violence I don't believe he should be punished for self defence & it was good to see someone regain their confidence as we saw Casey on ACA ? Last night and hope it inspires others to stand up to their bullies in other ways

I was hit by a girl at school in Christchurch who was supposed to be my friend and that was hard to take .

Cyber-bullying, on the other hand may be increasing with recent research suggesting that 1 in 10 kids have beenbeen cyber-bullied."

Here is why bullying, and policies and strategies to combat it, are such a high priority for communities and governments.

• One student in every four in Australian schools is affected by bullying, says recent research commissioned by the Federal Government.
• An estimated 200 million children and youth around the world are being bullied by their peers, according to the 2007 Kandersteg Declaration Against Bullying in Children and Youth.
• Kids who are bullied are three times more likely to show depressive symptoms, says the Centre for Adolescent Health.
• Children who were bullied were up to nine times more likely to have suicidal thoughts, say some studies.
• Girls who were victims of bullying in their early primary school years were more likely to remain victims as they got older, according to British research.
• Children who were frequently bullied by their peers were more likely to develop psychotic symptoms in their early adolescence, says more UK research.
• Girls were much more likely than boys to be victims of both cyber and traditional bullying, says a recent Murdoch Children's Research Institute study.
• Children as young as three can become victims of bullying, says Canadian research.
• Young people who bully have a one in four chance of having a criminal record by the age of 30.
• Bullying is the fourth most common reason young people seek help from children's help services.