For Parents

What is Bullying?

Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time. Both kids who are bullied and who bully others may have serious lasting problems.

Although definitions of bullying vary, most agree that bullying involves:

• Imbalance of Power: People who bully use their power to control or harm, and the people being bullied may have a hard time defending themselves

• Intent to Cause Harm: Actions done (committed) by accident are not bullying; the person bullying has a goal to cause harm

• Repetition: Incidents of bullying happen to the same person over and over by the same person or group

Bullying includes actions such as making threats, spreading rumors, attacking someone physically or verbally, and excluding someone from a group on purpose.

What is cyberbullying?

Cyberbullying is bullying that takes place using electronic technology. Examples of cyberbullying include mean text messages or emails, rumors sent by email or posted on social networking sites, and embarrassing pictures, videos, websites, or fake profiles.

Three Types of Bullying

Verbal bullying

Saying or writing mean things

Teasing

Name-calling

Inappropriate sexual comments

Taunting

Threatening to cause harm

Social bullying

Hurting someone’s reputation or relationships

Leaving someone out on purpose

Telling other children not to be friends with someone

Spreading rumors about someone

Embarrassing someone in public

Physical bullying

Hurting a person’s body or possessions

Hitting/kicking/pinching

Spitting

Tripping/pushing

Taking or breaking someone’s things

Making mean or rude hand gestures