Viciously destroy the idea that bullying is a normal part of growing up.
This is so hard for me as a parent to deal with, from both sides.
Like it brings up all of my issues, and I so want my kid to not have to deal with bullying. And I have no idea how to do that.
I’ll repeat something I’ve said before:
I was doing my Master’s thesis on bullying until the topic triggered me back to my own childhood so badly I dropped out of that degree program. Let me share something I know.
We haven’t quite found anti-bullying programs that stop bullying once it’s started, but we canreduce the harm bullying does. Just a few small changes to classroom culture, like limiting children’s opportunities to exclude each other, or spending time talking about respectful communication, has visible changes. Yeah, there’s still a hierarchy of popularity, but kids at the bottom of the ladder go from having no friends on average to having one or two. And that’s enough to make or break a childhood. (Sources: one two three four five)
But here’s the other thing.
There is one major factor that mediates the link between childhood bullying and adult mental illnesses (predominantly depression, anxiety, and eating disorders). It’s self-blame.
What really damages children isn’t precisely being bullied; it’s believing that they deserve to be bullied. If children don’t blame themselves for being victims, they are much more resilient and experience fewer long-term negative consequences. (Sources: one two three four five)
Society blames children for their victimization by bullies all the time. It says, “There is something about you that causes people to bully you.“ Common responses to bullied kids are things like: “Don’t give them a reaction.” (They’re bullying you because you get upset.) “They’re just jealous.” (They’re bullying you because you do well.) “Let’s teach you some social skills.” (They’re bullying you because you act weird.)
If we can just change that one thing, we could prevent a lot of damage. What bullied kids desperately need at the very least is a caring community that says: You are not alone. It’s not your fault. What they’re doing is not okay.
(Source: strawberryspoons, via myriadism)
smushles liked this
bradburymeinfire liked this
photosynthefish-12 liked this
schyphe reblogged this from corbinite
coolinternetaddict liked this lovealwaysj reblogged this from findyourvoice
kool--kitty reblogged this from dingdongyouarewrong
hagelliot reblogged this from latratoris
veliante reblogged this from star-anise
fight-the-good-fight-of-faith liked this
eliast0r reblogged this from mentalisttraceur
akiriweary reblogged this from minjiminjiminji
akiriweary liked this
xiaozhan-mylight liked this intentlydivided reblogged this from whatever-the-hell-i-want
intentlydivided liked this
whatever-the-hell-i-want reblogged this from cookiecakemachine
random-scribbles reblogged this from minjiminjiminji
random-scribbles liked this
liseelin liked this
fragmented-peace reblogged this from strawberryspoons
die-leere-kantine reblogged this from la-vache-intrepide
yavannamire reblogged this from thisboythatgirl
apollothegayest liked this
littletinythings liked this nightingalescalling reblogged this from dingdongyouarewrong
nightingalescalling liked this
superflys-things reblogged this from pomskypuppy
superflys-things liked this pomskypuppy reblogged this from haberdashing
redheadgrim liked this
jazthepiratequeen reblogged this from thatcuteaspie thatcuteaspie reblogged this from nerdexpress
beastie-supreme reblogged this from future-twi theternalmemeruiner liked this
queertaliesin reblogged this from beththeb01 golsaileachreblogs reblogged this from megamindyelling
golsaileach liked this
its-just-a--username liked this
pearl-and-woolboy liked this
saltyoaktree reblogged this from dingdongyouarewrong
saltyoaktree liked this
old-them-jj reblogged this from dirtypuzzle
old-them-jj liked this
dirtypuzzle reblogged this from jameswrites - Show more notes