Bullying is a childish act, yet we ignore the serious effects it can cause.
Problems
Peer Pressure / bullying
It starts early
I live in a house that overlooks the playground of an elementary school. When outdoor recess is in session, I can clearly point out the bullies on the playground causing trouble. The sad part is that the ratio of teachers to student supervision is ridiculous. I usually notice just one teacher who is expected to look over about a hundred kids at a time. And yes, that bully on the playground is going to get away with just about anything.
So, what does elementary school bullying have to do with middle and high school?…well an awful lot. These bullies are not going to change their ways as they move on to upper grade levels. In fact, the number of bullies will likely increase as more and more new students combine into larger schools.
What happens to those students that were picked on in school? Their self-esteem is going to be extremely low, and their wall to stand strong against peer pressure is going to grow weak. This is when trouble can start.
It's all about emotions
The purpose of bullying is to get someone to react out of their emotions. They want to see a person get angry, frustrated, scared, and just so upset that they may even want to cry. A bully takes great pride out of that, and there is no doubt that that’s what they’re looking for. So a person with low-self esteem makes a great target.
There is bullying everywhere in life, even as an adult. Sometimes, you just have to shrug it off and ignore the little stuff. However, some bullies may be so continuous that a child can't deal with it anymore.
Chances are that a child will not turn to a teacher or counselor for help in fear that it may make matters worse by “tattle-tailing” the situation. If word gets back to that bully that he or she is being “told on”— well, that's just going to make a bully more angry and prone to continue worse bullying behaviors. But, a child may feel isolated if they can't get help.
Reactions to bullying can be scary
The bullying that was once just harmful fun may turn into a serious issue. Some brainwashing may get involved to where the defenseless child is starting to think that the bully is right about what they preach. “Maybe I really am ugly and have nobody that cares to be my friend, maybe I really won't get anywhere in life, maybe, maybe…maybe he or she is right.”
The scary part about not having open communication between adults and their children, or even school faculty, is that a child has no where to turn. It's a guessing game as to what they are really thinking inside of their minds. Are they really fine, or are they considering about hurting themself or someone else?
What you should know
- It can be physical or mental
- It can be done online and through communication devices
- It distracts a victim from learning and enjoying life
- It can lead a victim into low self-esteem and possibly depression
- In desperation, it could lead a victim to commit suicide
- Teens that bully increase their chances of leading this behavior into further and dangerous acts such as drugs and criminal violence.
Bullying is so childish, yet we ignore it when kids are young. We think that these bullies will grow out of it and that the victims will forget that it ever happened. It just doesn't work that way.
Bullying leaves a scar that is hard to ignore. If it is not controlled from a young age, it will never get better.
