Does Bullying Happen More Often Than Adults Think? - Episode 9

This week we will be diving deeper into the question, “Does bullying happen more often than adults think?”

Transcript

Hey there. Welcome back to PACER Talks about Bullying. I'm Bailey. Thanks for joining us.

This month we're talking all about the realities of bullying. Now there's many different types and forms of bullying that a student may experience. Physical, emotional, social, or cyber bullying, and while all these forms are equally hurtful, some of these behaviors may hurt a student emotionally or just physically or they may happen in the online world versus physical world making it harder for adults to identify.

In this week's episode, we're going to answer the question, does bullying happen more often than adults think? Let's dive into it. Physical bullying may be a little bit easier for adults to recognize because the behavior is usually overt and there is typically signs left behind like bruises or broken bones or damaged property, but hurtful words and shared secrets and exclusions that constitute the verbal and social bullying don't leave behind a physical trial of that emotional pain making it a lot harder to recognize.

Bullying in the online world can also be outside of an adult's view. Now while this type of bullying does leave an online electronic trial of hurtful words and images, adults usually don't know about it unless a child reports it or an adult is monitoring their online behavior. So as we can see it, bullying isn't as simple as seeing one student striking at another. It's a lot harder to identify when it happens within social circles or in the online world.

That's why it's so important that as adults, we have a continued conversation about bullying with our child or student, about what bullying is or isn't, and tips on what they can do if they experience bullying. That way they know that there's adults that care and that if they do experience bullying, that they'll be supported. When the doors of communication are open with your child, they'll be more likely to recognize when a behavior isn't acceptable. Know that it's not their fault, tell an adult, and together develop an action plan.

If you want more tips on how to start this conversation with your child or student, or what to do if your child experiences bullying, you can visit our website, pacer.org/bullying.

That's all that we have for this week's episode. Make sure to join us right back here next week. And remember, when we stand together, no one stands alone. See you.