How to prevent the bullying

There are problems that remain hidden in society and in the community, continually producing victims who use silence as an impotent defense; but it is precisely this silence that makes the perpetuation of the problem possible, and bullying does not escape this rule.

For decades it has been creeping into all community environments and allows the "mighty powerless" victimize the weakest and most vulnerable, using the meanest of strategies: the prevarication. In this Psychology-Online article we are going to see together some tips on how to prevent bullying or, put another way, the phenomenon of bullying.

Index

1. what is bullying
2. Reinforcement of the role of adults
3. Significant educational contexts
4. Digital education to prevent cyberbullying
5. Cinema as an educational tool
6. Teacher training to prevent bullying
7. Peer education against bullying
8. Signal evaluation
9. Accompaniment of children and adolescents
10. emotional literacy
11. Adopting an integrated approach
12. Promotion of prosocial behavior

the swedish psychologist Dan Olweus was the first to use, in the 1970s, the English term "bullying" to indicate preponderance among peers in his pioneering research on school violence that led to the formulation of an antibullying program widely adopted in schools in the countries nordic

Summarizing the different definitions followed over the years, we can outline bullying as a repetitive offensive-aggressive behavior in which the papers crystallize over time, which pursues the intention of harming and offending the victim, who becomes in the target of the fun of the other or of the group and asymmetrical in the balance between the forces of the victim and those of the prevaricator.

The ultimate motivation for bullying, however, is not to act in a particularly violent manner or to gain material advantage. by direct extortion of a colleague, but rather of a relational type, or affirming the power of one over the other within their social network.

Thebullying causes they are multiple and can be attributed to a number of individual factors and group dynamics such as:

• The temperament of the child.
• family models.
• Stereotypes imposed by the media.
• Parental education.
• The education of schools, which often neglect relationships between students.
• Other variables related to the school and social environment.

An action to prevent and combat the spread of bullying must require more aware adults capable of create a meaningful relational and educational context. Their participation is essential to give a positive imprint to the educational and peer relationship.

Whether they are school administrators, teachers, school collaborators, parents, it is important that they are aware of their role, which requires attention and educational sensitivity towards any child and child. They can promote a common educational action in the contexts in which they operate, with the conviction of playing a central role in the prevention of bullying, assuming the responsibility to set limits, stopping bullying.

How to prevent bullying? The institution should anticipate specific training for teachers in its educational action, in particular on the prevention of conflicts, violence and bullying. It should also provide special spaces in which young people can ask questions, to which they must know how to answer and not misrepresent, and not only learn answers.

Therefore, the school must offer the world of youth the appropriate instruments to be able to interpret it and charge it with meanings of discernment. Only by going in this direction, and when adults find the agreement of opinions on the phenomenon of bullying, will it be possible to reduce the antisocial behavior of boys.

One of the fundamental characteristics of recent years is, without a doubt, the widespread diffusion of electronic media among children and young people and awareness of the extent to which the use of these media can affect their lives, offering stimuli and opportunities, as well as emphasizing some forms of aggressiveness in relationships with others.

In fact, the issue of the relationship between minors and the media manifests an insurmountable urgency, a duty of non-deferrable liability. All this leads to request, in particular, the school, teachers and especially parents, offering them knowledge and tools to manage possible educational interventions.

However, before acting, it is necessary to understand the new scenarios in which the children and young people, how they experience the use of technology and how adults themselves deal with this theme. To learn more about this form of harassment, see our post What is cyberbullying: causes and consequences.

Cinema is an extraordinary instrument, a factory of dreams and emotions that leads the viewer to stories that, Even when they are the result of fantasy, they concern him and lead him to reflect on identity, relationships and behaviors.

This identification process, not too dangerous, is present in all narrative methodologies and is particularly effective with cinema, since today's "digital" children have an ongoing relationship with images. To this generation the videos can convey complex content more effectively.

Education and teaching should be considered as the strategies of a difficult profession and delicate, which would deserve the highest consideration in a civil society that cares about the fate of its youths. Educators need to know the complexity and uniqueness of learners.

Therefore it is necessary for an educator to search his chest of knowledge for the fundamentals of the difficult job of living. It would be useful for adults to ask themselves some questions, the answers to which involve complex visions that have deep roots in our history as individuals and as species.

It is a revolutionary educational model because it requires a new adult figure: someone who, despite having knowledge and experiences, refuses to transmit their knowledge to help and support self-learning processes among the most youths.

Peer education today represents one of themost significant work models with and for minors. The premise is that students can be protagonists in promoting their well-being. Some peer education intervention models make a special contribution to the prevention and reduction of bullying.

Too often children who are bullied they do not report the fact, a little out of fear, a little because they tend to minimize what happened, justifying the executioners and even reaching to consider themselves "deserving" of the accusations leveled against them, in a vicious circle that in extreme cases can lead to suicide.

If our children and adolescents experience one or more of the following disorders, it is good to try to talk to them trying to push them to a dialogue: psychosomatic disorders, isolation, frequent headaches or stomachaches, depression, decrease in school performance, etc. In any case, never underestimate these signs and never leave children and teenagers alone to face any kind of problem.

If we suspect or know that a child is being bullied, we must do everything possible to never feel alone, denouncing the incident to the authorities and trying to assure him that his is not an isolated case.

But, above all, one should not be encouraged to respond to intimidation, but rather teach protection tools such as avoiding isolated places, both at school and on the way home, and being as indifferent as possible to any provocation, the real weapon against bullies.

Next, get in touch with the minor's teachers, explaining the situation to them and making sure that they supervise the subjects identified as bullies. If you notice that the psychological repercussions on the child or adolescent victim of bullying are considerable, it might be worthwhile talk to a psychologist.

As far as communication is concerned, the work that the school is called upon to do is enormous: there are obvious shortcomings among young people (but also among adults), due in part to a poor knowledge of the language, but, above all, to deceptive forms of interaction that children learn daily in social media, where the tendency to verbal aggression and controversy ends in itself.

Furthermore, there are few educational interventions that teach confrontation and the authority of words. Emotional literacy is another essential step on the road to bullying prevention. Educators are called to encourage in students empathic ability and availability to active listening of the other.

But, above all, teachers have a duty to make them aware of their emotional responsibilities towards themselves and their peers as a key point to prevent bullying.

To learn how to prevent bullying for children, you must understand that bullying does not depend exclusively of temperamental and family factors that favor the appearance of behaviors aggressive. The attitudes, habits and behavior of school personnel, and in particular of teachers, are decisive in the prevention and control of bullying actions.

Hence the importance of an integrated approach, which guides organization and action within the school, with the explicitness of a series of agreed objectives that they give to the students, to the personnel and to the parents; as well as an indication and a tangible demonstration of the commitment to prevent and combat bullying behaviors.

In light of the foregoing, an effective action program must therefore have as its initial requirement the intention to solve possible problems related to bullying, together with the will to prevent its occurrence. appearance reinforcing protective factors through techniques that work mainly on the valorization of personal, family, school and community resources.

Now that you know what bullying is and how to avoid it, how can we promote social behavior in minors? Here are some suggestions for all types of educators:

• Adoption of an Authorized Educational Style: it is about openness to dialogue and the establishment of support resources, with clear and shared rules.
• Establishment of educational models: they must explicitly reject aggressive behaviors, clearly valuing, above all, prosocial behaviors.
• Layout of an educational space: consists of creating a context and a calendar so that children can carry out group activities aimed at achieving common and shared goals.
• Valorization of the contents: the study disciplines must provide clues for reflection on prosociality and civil coexistence.
• Consolidation of citizenship education.

If you have found these tips to prevent bullying or bullying useful, we recommend you expand your knowledge on the subject with our articles on Types of bullying and its consequences.

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to How to prevent the bullying, we recommend that you enter our category of socialization problems.

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