STOP BULLYING: Girl jumps off building after bullying

FOX 11 Los Angeles - Bullying: A Family Affair

Written by: Tony McEwing, Anchor - bio | email

Posted by: Jeffrey Thomas DeSocio, Digital News Editor / Producer - email

Parents, you might want to pay much closer attention to how your children treat one another. For the longest time, sibling rivalry was thought to be just a normal part of growing up and not a big deal. Turns out it can be and often is a very big deal that can have lifelong consequences. Having grown up a bullied little brother myself by a sibling who was seven years my senior, this is not news to me. 

However, many parents out there may be somewhat stunned by the findings of a new study.

Bullying has become front page news these days as parents, educators, doctors and other experts have been more forthcoming about the dire consequences and long lasting effects to those who are constantly picked on. But the effort has largely focused on bullies outside the family. Now a new study finds that 32 percent of children and adolescents have experienced some type of sibling aggression during the past year. Furthermore, and this is especially significant, the study shows regardless of whether the bullying by family members is mild or severe, the victims have far worse mental health than children who are not bullied.

The study was done by the National Survey of Children's Exposure to Violence, which documents the incidence and prevalence of kids' exposure to violent behavior. Bullying includes everything from physical assault, destruction of property, and psychological aggression such as name-calling or telling a child he or she isn't wanted.

While there don't seem to be any set answers on how to deal with sibling bullying, it is clearly incumbent upon parents to intervene and put a stop to it when they see it happening. If they don't, the result could not only adversely effect the mental health of the victim, but cause an irreparable rift in relationships within the family.

Read more: www.myfoxla.com

StopBullying.gov: What is Bullying?

Source:  StopBullying.gov

Teacher Joins Students in Bullying of Student

We Must Stop Bullying NOW

It is a fact that at least one in six kids experience bullying in school.  The sad reality is that the first place kids learn about bullying is where they learn most other things; in the home.   Most of the American population does not understand the full manifestation of bullying and how it can start with a simple teasing over something perceived to be minuscule.  Bullying however, always has a tragic backstory.

Only recently have we begun to understand the importance of school yard bullying.  Those identified as bullies by age eight are six times more likely than non-bullies to end up with serious criminal records by the time they reach the age of thirty.   Bullying must be taken seriously and viewed as assault with serious consequences if we are going to create a healthy self-esteem in our children.  Not only is bullying a precursor to greater and more dangerous violence, it also fosters intense misery among students.

Bullying represents a chronic pattern of abuse over time and is portrayed by students who have a false sense of superiority over others.  It is often gender based but can also be about height, weight, sexual development such as breasts in young girls and the family’s standing in the community.  Victims of bullying have been known to commit suicide or develop drug and alcohol dependency as a coping mechanism.  Poor parental discipline and monitoring at home creates an environment of hostility, causing child conduct problems.  These problems reach social circles at school and cause rejection by normal peers, resulting in academic failure and repeated out casting. 

Finally, victims of school yard bullying become delinquent due to peer rejection.  They find companionship in negative peer groups as a result, where they often experience further victimization that can have devastating effects on him or her.  To fully understand bullying, it is important to decipher the rituals involved, that is, the process of casting out those who are different by dehumanizing them, including the use of offensive names as well as provocative and extreme violence.

Bullying must stop and we must stop it NOW.

By Alexandra Datig