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https://www.kzoo.edu/psych/stop_bullying/for_kids/what_is_a_bully.html

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What is a Bully?

Freddie and the Bully, Layla, age 6

T a k e B a c k t he P l a y g r o u n d !

A web page for kids who want to know a little more about what bullying really is and how we can stop it.

A bully is a person who purposely tries to hurt others by:

· Making them feel uncomfortable.
· Hurting them by kicking, hitting, pushing, tripping, etc.
· Name-calling.
· Spreading nasty rumors.

The bully hurts the other person over and over.

The person being bullied feels that he or she can do nothing to stop it:

· He or she might feel smaller or weaker than the bully.
· He or she might feel outnumbered by the bully and the bully's friends.
· He or she might feel there is no help:
· No one to talk to.
· No one is standing up for him or her.
· He or she often feels very sad, but does not know how to change the situation.

Bullies can be BOYS or GIRLS!!

Who do bullies pick on?

· Often, bullies are bigger kids, so they pick on:
· Kids they feel are smaller.
· Kids they think won't stand up to them.
· Kids that have few friends to stand up for them.

Why do bullies do what they do?

· Sometimes they think that they will win or get what they want.
· Sometimes they want to impress or entertain their friends.
· Sometimes they enjoy feeling power over someone because sometimes they are being bullied by someone else!
· Sometimes they do not even realize that they are hurting the other person.

What to do if someone is bullying you:

· Tell someone you trust about it. If it is easier for you, write that person a note instead!! (People you might want to tell are: parents, teachers, the principal, playground safeties, or older friends).
· If the person you told cannot help you or does not do anything, find someone else! Never keep being bullied a secret!
· Try not to let the bully see you are upset. (Bullies are looking for signs that you are upset and they may do it more).
· Avoid areas where the bully feels comfortable picking on you (for example, places where teachers cannot see you - such as corners of the playground, lonely corridors, and behind large furniture in the classroom.
· Try to surround yourself with friends and people who will stand up for you.

What to do if you see someone who is being bullied:

· Get friends together and TALK to the bully. Let the bullies in your school know that bullying is not accepted at your school.
· Don't cheer the bully on or stand around to watch. (The bully might like the attention, and pick on the kid even more).
· If you see someone being bullied, find someone to help stop it. (Get another friend, a teacher, a playground safety, a principal).
· Be nice to, include, and get to know the people who are being bullied: You may find they are similar to you!!
· Try to make friends with the bully too- show them other ways to interact with others. (They don't need to bully others to be accepted or cool).

What would you do?

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What is a Bully? Freddie and the Bully, Layla, age 6 T a k e B a c k t he P l a y g r o u n d ! A web page for kids who want to know a little more about what bullying really is and how we can stop it.

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https://www.nationalbullyinghelpline.co.uk/children.html

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Help and Advice for Children affected by bullying

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Information and advice for children affected by bullying. A free dedicated childrens helpline for any child that’s scared due to bullying.

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https://antibullyingsoftware.com/the-definition-of-bullying-for-kids/

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What Is the Definition of Bullying?

"Bullying is when you keep picking on someone because you think you're cooler, smarter, stronger or better than them."

How did we come up with this definition?

Let's start with the basics. What exactly is the definition of bullying? Unfortunately there are as many definitions of bullying as there are people talking about it. One definition of bullying of kids is:

Bullying is a form of proactive aggression in which the bullying is unprovoked and the bully initiates the bullying behaviour. (Dodge and Coie, 1987)

Another is:

Bullying involves an imbalance of power between the bully and the victim, is intentionally harmful and occurs repetitively. (Olweus et al., 1999)

A great definition of bullying for kids from stopbullying.gov that incorporates elements of both of these bullying definitions is:

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

To put this into a more kid-friendly definition of bullying, you could say that:

Bullying is when you keep picking on someone because you think you're cooler, smarter, stronger or better than them.

Repetition and an Imbalance of Power Make Bullying Unique

There are two components in the above definitions of bullying for kids that make bullying unique.

1. Bullying is a repetitive act that occurs over time. This differentiates bullying from aggressive acts that occur only once.

2. Bullying involves an imbalance of power between the bully and the victim.

Of course, bullies need not be physically stronger than their victims. Instead, this imbalance of power that occurs in bullying can come from numerous sources including:

1. Being more popular

2. Being stronger

3. Being smarter

4. Having a higher social status

Types of Bullying

Bullies, Victims & Bully-Victims: The Problem with the Bully and Victim Labels

Not all victims of bullying play the role of victim their entire time in school. Similarly, not all bullies play the role of bully their entire time in school. In fact, one study done on a middle school showed that 87% of students changed their role over the course of 3 years (Swearer, Cary, & Frazier-Koontz, 2001.)

What's more, a size-able portion of students are both bullied and play the role of bully themselves creating a third category - the bully-victim. In comparison with bullies and victims, bully-victims are at increased changes of developing mood-related disorders like depression and anxiety.

Susan Swearer in her book, Bullying Prevention and Intervention: Realistic Strategies for Schools, suggests that people adopt a terminology that allows for the fact that students can and do move between the roles of bully & victim. Specifically, she recommends using the terms 'students who bully' and 'students who are victimized'.

Find out about Interesting Facts About Bullying for Kids

References for the Definitions of Bullying

1. Dodge KA, Coie JD. Social-information-processing factors in reactive and proactive aggression in children's peer groups. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1987;53:1146-1158

2. Olweus, D., Limber, S. P., & Mihalic, S. (1999). The Bullying Prevention Program: Blueprints for Violence Prevention, Vol. 10. Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence: Boulder, CO.

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The Definition of Bullying for Kids - BRIM Anti-Bullying Software

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What Is the Definition of Bullying? "Bullying is when you keep picking on someone because you think you're cooler, smarter, stronger or better than them." How did we come up with this definition? Let's start with the basics. What exactly is the definition of bullying?

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https://www.familylives.org.uk/advice/bullying/general-advice/what-is-bullying

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There is no legal definition of bullying. But it is usually defined as repeated behaviour which is intended to hurt someone either emotionally or physically, and is often aimed at certain people because of their race, religion, gender or sexual orientation or any other aspect such as appearance or disability.

Bullying can take many forms including:

What is cyberbullying?

Cyberbullying can also be refered to as online bullying which is via social networking sites, gaming sites, chat rooms or anywhere online. Being bullied online can have a devastating impact on anyone experiencing it and it can be really hard to get it to stop. If you are worried about cyberbullying please read our advice on cyberbullying.

How to deal with bullying at school

When your child is being bullied at school, it can be very stressful and confusing on what steps to take to get the bullying to stop. This can have a huge impact on your child as they may be feeling very anxious, low, withdrawn or isolated because of the bullying. Please visit our section on bullying at school for lots of advice on taking time off school, complaining to your school and next steps to take if the bullying has not been resolved. Our advice section contains template letters you can use to contact the relevant departments.

Building resilience

Helping our children build resilience and confidence is one of the most important gifts we can give them. We all understand how life can bring you many challenges throughout and how important it is on how we manage this. Resilience is being able to manage stress, challenges, trauma or adversity that life brings and bounce back from it. When children and teens are resilient, they are going to be more confident, curious and adaptable to the world around them. Click here to read our online advice.

Bullying affects your mental health

Bullying can have a massive impact on your mental health, both now and in the future. In fact, recent research has shown that if you're bullied as a child or teenager, you might be twice as likely to use mental health services as an adult. It doesn't matter if you're being bullied at school, at home or online, bullying can mess with your head. But you're not alone, and you deserve support. Read our article about how to get support if bullying is affecting your mental health.

How to help someone being bullied

People who are being bullied can feel really distressed and it can have a serious impact on their life and health. In very serious cases bullying could lead to self harming, or even suicidal thoughts. Often other people don't realise the effect that bullying has when it goes on day in day out. You may be wondering how you can help someone who is experiencing bullying. There are usually quite a lot of pointers that someone is being bullied and if you see or hear any of them you're in a good position to help. Below is some things you can do if you are worried that a friend is experiencing bullying at school.

If you are at school, let a teacher know what you suspect

If you are in a workplace, maybe let your colleague know that you are there for them

Go with the person being bullied and back up what they say to the teacher

Tell the person being bullied that you'll can help them to tell their parents

Tell your parents or an adult you trust

Agree with your friends that you will all make it clear to the person doing the bullying that you don't like what they're doing

Keep a diary of what you see going on so that you can give a reliable account of what has been happening

Bullying at work

Bullying at work can take shape or form in many different ways. If you feel as though you are experiencing bullying in the workplace, this can be a very devastating and distressing issue and bullying can affect your emotional health. You may be feeling very low and anxious at the thought of going to work and facing the individual or group that may be subjecting you to this and the bullying may also be affecting family life. Read our advice articles below for help and support. We have lots of workplace bullying advice that may help including help on writing letters of complaint and more.

Further resources

It may help to chat to other parents on our forums to find out how they are dealing with this issue within their family life. You can also talk to us online via our live chat service, email us at askus@familylives.org.uk or call us on our helpline on 0808 800 2222 to speak to trained family support worker.

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There is no legal definition of bullying. But it is usually defined as repeated behaviour which is intended to hurt someone either emotionally or physically, and is often aimed at certain people because of their race, religion, gender or sexual orientation or any other aspect such as appearance or disability.

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https://www.stopbullying.gov/bullying/what-is-bullying

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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.

In order to be considered bullying, the behavior must be aggressive and include:

An Imbalance of Power: Kids who bully use their power-such as physical strength, access to embarrassing information, or popularity-to control or harm others. Power imbalances can change over time and in different situations, even if they involve the same people.

Repetition: Bullying behaviors happen more than once or have the potential to happen more than once.

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

Types of Bullying

There are three types of bullying:

Verbal bullying is saying or writing mean things. Verbal bullying includes:

Teasing

Name-calling

Inappropriate sexual comments

Taunting

Threatening to cause harm

Social bullying, sometimes referred to as relational bullying, involves hurting someone's reputation or relationships. Social bullying includes:

Leaving someone out on purpose

Telling other children not to be friends with someone

Spreading rumors about someone

Embarrassing someone in public

Physical bullying involves hurting a person's body or possessions. Physical bullying includes:

Hitting/kicking/pinching

Spitting

Tripping/pushing

Taking or breaking someone's things

Making mean or rude hand gestures

Where and When Bullying Happens

Bullying can occur during or after school hours. While most reported bullying happens in the school building, a significant percentage also happens in places like on the playground or the bus. It can also happen travelling to or from school, in the youth's neighborhood, or on the Internet.

Frequency of Bullying

There are two sources of federally collected data on youth bullying:

The 2019 School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey (National Center for Education Statistics and Bureau of Justice) indicates that, nationwide, about 22% of students ages 12-18 experienced bullying.

The 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) indicates that, nationwide, 15.0% of students in grades 9-12 report being bullied on school property in the 12 months preceding the survey.

See also " Frequency of Cyberbullying."

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Learn what is bullying and what are the different types of bullying.