Recently, reports in the media about bullying at school have been piling up. But bullying, which can be translated as “attacking” and “excluding” from English, is not a new phenomenon. It has existed for quite some time and is in fact cruel everyday life in some schools. What is new, however, is the awareness being raised about the issue and the numerous preventative measures being offered to empower students. Bullying is a serious issue. This is not a matter of mere annoyance, but a kind of psychological terror that can have disastrous consequences for the victim’s entire personality and health.
Bullying is violence for the soul
Bullying can exist in many different forms and ages and is not to be confused with arguments among children and adolescents, which are part of growing up. This is because bullying is not a mere argument or disagreement, but a method of socially ostracizing a person and driving them to the brink of despair over several weeks to months or even years.
Often the victims even feel guilty that bullying is carried out on them and out of sheer shame, especially students usually do not dare to confide in their parents, teachers or close people. However, bullying is a serious issue that requires a great deal of sensitivity from parents and educators in dealing with their children and students. Only through education and active measures against bullying at school can this kind of terror be prevented in the future.
Far-reaching consequences for health
Whether a student faces bullying in the form of overt or subtle bullying, in either case it can cause the student to suffer from mental stress as well as physical stress. The consequences may include:
- Loss of appetite
- Abdominal pain and headache
- Nightmares
- Insomnia
- Anxieties
In the worst cases, students think about suicide or even carry it out. In addition to physical discomfort, it should be a warning sign for parents if their child suddenly does not want to go to school, skips classes and completely withdraws into himself. However, it is advisable for parents to address the issue directly but at the same time gently and sensitively in a suspected case.
How should parents respond?
First of all, parents should gain their child’s full trust. In any case, experts advise parents against making direct contact with the bullying perpetrators or even their parents, as it may even make the whole situation worse. If parents speak directly to the perpetrators, their own child is weakened more and offers the perpetrator a further target.
If a discussion takes place from parent to parent, the perpetrators are usually punished by their parents for their behavior and then vent their anger about it again on their bullying victim, so that a vicious circle can develop. It is best for parents of bullying victims to inform the school and make use of qualified counseling services such as school social work or school psychological counseling.
Even if their own child is not being bullied by classmates, for example, but by teachers, parents should first contact the school administration and ideally join forces with other parents.
Prevent bullying
Many schools have formed anti-bullying groups to strengthen group feeling and offer social skills training and anti-aggression training as preventive measures against bullying. This empowers students and teaches them methods to protect themselves against attacks on their own personalities.
In anti-aggression training, students are taught how to address feelings (such as anger or sadness) without resorting to violence. This is because perpetrators of bullying often have a completely flawed sense of justice. They need to learn that taking out their own anger on others is not the way to go.