Defintion of Bullying for Kids

Definition of Bullying for Kids

We all have experienced feelings of discomfort in a group setting at some point. Adults may or may not immediately understand why you felt ill at ease. Never the less, grown-ups possess the maturity to reflect on the situation and figure out what is causing a problem. Most children are eager to make new friends and enjoy talking or playing in groups. Unfortunately, kids do not always understand conflict when it occurs.  They may not readily understand the difference between a friend and a bully. Therefore, it is important to discuss a definition of bullying for kids that is simple and easily understood.  As a parent, you want to provide your child with the emotional support, which assists him or her to get through conflict with friends and classmates.  

A starting point to help your child understand the definition of bullying is providing him with a working knowledge of what it is and how bullying occurs. The Anti-bullying Alliance (ABA) www.anti-bullyingalliance.org describes the definition of bullying as the repetitive, intentional hurting of one person or group by another person or group, where the relationship involves an imbalance of power. Adults may want to simplify a definition of bullying for kids by breaking down parts of the definition into simple terms.  Repetitive and intentional hurting involves performing a mean, physical, or verbal actions or frequently making rude comments.   An example of bullying that involves physical actions includes repeatedly throwing an object or hitting someone. There are resources in various formats available to explain the definition of bullying to kids such as YouTube videos: https://youtu.be/lKz3bcFMhO. There are other examples in electronic format that can be useful in assisting adults to explain the definition of bullying to kids.

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We all have experienced feelings of discomfort in a group setting at some point. Adults may or may not immediately understand why you felt ill at ease. Never the less, grown-ups possess the maturity to reflect on the situation and figure out what is causing a problem. Most children are eager to make new friends and enjoy talking or playing in groups. Unfortunately, kids do not always understand conflict when it occurs.  They may not readily understand the difference between a friend and a bully. Therefore, it is important to discuss a definition of bullying for kids that is simple and easily understood.  As a parent, you want to provide your child with the emotional support, which assists him or her to get through conflict with friends and classmates.   A starting point to help your child understand the definition of bullying is providing him with a working knowledge of what it is and how bullying occurs. The Anti-bullying Alliance (ABA) www.anti-bullyingalliance.org describes the definition of bullying as the repetitive, intentional hurting of one person or group by another person or group, where the relationship involves an imbalance of power. Adults may want to simplify a definition of bullying for kids by breaking down parts of the definition into simple terms.  Repetitive and intentional hurting involves performing a mean, physical, or verbal actions or frequently making rude comments.   An example of bullying that involves physical actions includes repeatedly throwing an object or hitting someone. There are resources in various formats available to explain the definition of bullying to kids such as YouTube videos: https://youtu.be/lKz3bcFMhO. There are other examples in electronic format that can be useful in assisting adults to explain the definition of bullying to kids.

Parents and other responsible adults should help kids to feel secure in their ability to report bullying when it occurs. Ask your child if there is a person who teases, hits or calls them names.  You can assess his response by following up periodically to find out if this problem frequently occurs and appears to be more than teasing.  This Pinterest link contains resources that can be used to help kids to connect as pen pals and understand the definition of bullying: https://www.pinterest.com/source/amazing-kids.org/. Bullying is a three-fold problem that involves verbal, physical, and emotional harassment.  The first two components of bullying are quickly felt and easily detected by the victim, bystanders, and onlookers. It is simple to identify when someone has said something hurtful and lashed out in a harmful physical way.   Emotional pain experienced by a victim of bullying cannot be readily seen but has the potential to be long lasting. Kids need to learn how to get along with others in social situations and parents can be there first social etiquette teachers. It is important to talk to younger children about how they are feeling inside and how mean actions hurt others too.  There is a large body of research-based information generated by the federal government, which provides a sound definition of bullying for individuals of all ages.  The stopbullying.gov website is extremely informative and contains information relevant to understanding the definition of bullying for kids:   http://www.stopbullying.gov/blog/2013/01/03/teaching-social-skills-to-prevent-bullying-in-young-children.  The problems associated with bullying should not be minimized and we must share messages that speak out against the negative effects of bullying.