EASY
Why is bullying harmful to others?
There are many reasons bullying can be harmful to others.
1. If other students see someone being a bully, they might think its OK to bully people too.
2. Bullying can make the person being bullied feel really bad about themselves. They might start to think that they are worse than others because they are being told that they are a lot and are being treated worse. If they believe they are worse than others they might have low self-esteem and this might cause depression and other mental health issues.
3. Everyone has a 'behind the scenes' of their lives which we do not see. Someone might be having a hard time with other things (for example, family problems, recent death, and more) and the bullying they experience just makes their situation that much more difficult to go through.
And so many more reasons!
What is the difference between bullying and an fighting?
Bullying is something that happens consistently where one person is in control of the situation and the other person is the victim. If you are regularly experiencing teasing, hitting/kicking/shoving, cyberbullying, by the SAME PERSON, without reason, and that person is TRYING to hurt you on purpose, that is bullying.
Someone having an opinion that is different than yours or disagreeing with you is NOT bullying.
A fight is something that only happens because of a specific situation. For example, if you are another student are fighting verbally or physically because of a disagreement or because of a situation that happened, that is not bullying because both people have an equal amount of power in the situation and because it is not a regular thing.
Is bullying illegal?
It can be! When you turn 12 years old you can be arrested for bullying related charges.
Because bullying is something that happens regularly where one person is tormenting another person, bullies can be arrested for harassment.
Bullies that are physically fighting other people can be arrested for assault.
If you see someone bullying or getting bullied what can you do INSTEAD of getting involved? Why is it important NOT to get involved?
If you see someone getting bullied or bullying someone else, TELL A TRUSTED ADULT nearby who can help. Telling an adult will make sure the situation gets resolved in the right way because they can talk to parents and everyone involved to make things right. Getting involved makes the situation bigger and worse. Getting involved also means that now some of the blame is on you.
Who can you tell if you are being bullied?
There are a lot of people you can tell.
1. A trusted adult
2. A parent
3. A teacher
4. A principal
5. Your worker
What is NOT considered bullying?
A fight where everyone has equal power (there is no victim who is powerless).
Something that does not happen regularly.
Someone disagreeing with you or having a different opinion than you.