Bullying These Days

Posted by Kelly Pfeiffer Jun 17, 2009

Social scientists have been investigating the causes, signs, patterns and results of bullies, bully victims and bystanders. What do bullies have in common? Do child bullies lack empathy? What role does the bystander play in bullying behavior continuing or esacalating? Did you know that girls are more likely to remain victims of bullies for a long period of time more so than boys?

Schools have implemented new policies to deal with bullying behavior and to decrease the likelihood that students will bully others. Recently The Oprah Winfrey Show talked about bullying and highlighted the emotional devastation caused by bullies.

Parents and teachers have created strategies to cope with bullying and stop it before it reaches extreme levels. Keeping a bully journal can help when parents need to take bullying issues to school authorities or eventually to the police.

Our society is getting better at recognizing and dealing with bullies, but bullies aren't going away. No one wants their child to be the victim of a bully, but often parents are the last to know. It seems that parents must use their gut feeling and ask questions to kids. If parents suspect that their child is being bullied, they may want to observe their kids in social interactions from afar as well as meet with teachers to see what social situations may be happening at school.