School bullying is a very serious topic – it often remains ignored by other children, teachers, and parents which makes it harder for a victim of bullying to study and even to lead a fulfilling life long after the negativity they experienced. The prevention of bullying is supposed to be one of the main obligations of the school administration, that works closely with the children involved and their parents.
In this article we will explore verbal bullying and its consequences – you will discover how to prevent verbal bullying and make sure children and teenagers feel safe and secure at school whether you are a parent or a teacher.
Types of Bullying
While bullying is commonly associated with verbal insults kids use at school to hurt their peers, there are various types of bullying children and adults can be victims of:
- Verbal bullying means a person is using language in the form of teasing or insults to bring another person down and humiliate them in a personal conversation or in public.
- Physical bullying refers to physical acts whose aim is to hurt another individual – whether the guilty party is starting a fight, punching another person, or throwing objects at them.
- Cyberbullying is an ever-growing variation of bullying that happens online – for instance, an individual may receive personal messages or texts that attack their appearance or personality or see negative comments on their social media account.
What Is Verbal Bullying?
Verbal bullying is one of the most common issues young people face at school – their classmates might make them a target of their jokes, insults, or threats for no reason. This type of bullying may manifest differently – the kid can be teased for their looks and outfits, their classmates may come up with offensive nicknames based on their name or trait, and there may be discrimination because of the child’s gender, skin color, or sexual orientation.
What Are the Effects of Verbal Bullying?
Verbal Bullying and Mental Health
When verbal bullying is not addressed properly and the child or teenager is not removed from an environment that continues to harm them, their mental health is at risk. Bullying leaves its mark on a person’s brain and heart, and young people who experienced bullying suffer from anxiety and depression. They are also more likely to harm themselves in order to cope with the challenges they face at school or try to escape from reality by using and abusing drugs and alcohol – dual diagnosis is a common consequence of verbal bullying that was not stopped.
Bullying and Education
Research has shown that children who face bullying in class or after they come home from school via the Internet will struggle academically – even the best students have experienced issues when the time comes to pass an important exam or stand in front of a large crowd doing a verbal presentation. Teachers unaware of different kinds of bullying will also look down on a young kid who does not want to participate in activities everyone else is happily involved in – unfortunately, this also increases the chances of a child getting bad grades.
Preventing Verbal Bullying
It is crucial to prevent bullying, and the adults – teachers and parents alike – are responsible for creating and implementing measures to protect the psyche of potential victims of bullying:
| Strategy | Description |
| Help the Class as a Whole | Let the students know that whoever tries to verbally bully their peers will face consequences – detention, suspension, and expulsion are usually scary enough for kids and teenagers to know they better behave in the future |
| Help the Bullied Child | A school counselor and the kid’s parents need to carefully listen to the story of the child who is brave enough to share their experiences. Ensure the child is safe, give them the comfort and affection they need at this vulnerable time, and ask them what they would like to happen – possibly, they would like to transfer to a different school or no longer attend classes with their bullies |
| Educate the Parents | A parent whose child is the bully must know how to address discriminatory comments. An interesting fact about bullies is that they do not like when their words are brought up especially when their parents get involved. The parent needs to have a serious conversation with their child and let them know about the punishments that may await them at home if their behavior does not change for the better |
Anti-Bullying Practices for Students
The administration of the school must prepare a brochure to distribute among students as well as make amendments to the school handbook – there have to be rules about verbal abuse, bullying, and signs of verbal bullying others should recognize before reporting the incident. Here is a brief overview of anti-bullying practices your academic institution should adopt:
| Practice | Description |
Do Not Bully Other Students | The guidebook needs to define verbal harassment and explain the consequences of the disruptive behavior on the premises of the school and outside of it in case the person targeted attends this specific school |
Help a Person When They Are Bullied | It may be difficult to stand up for an individual getting bullied in the moment but you need to encourage vocal support for a young kid. Additionally, other students may be advised to talk to the target of the bullying in private or include them in group activities if bullies want to make sure they are left out and isolated |
Inform Adults About Bullying | While you can specify the names of teachers and school administrators kids are supposed to get in touch with to let them know about bullying, it is also important to point out any adult they trust would be a good person to help them out – in case they are not sure about their teachers, they should notify their parents about the situation |
What to Do If You Are Being Bullied
Any anti-bullying program or brochure you are promoting in school needs to have advice for a young person who may suffer from bullying – here is a short list of suggestions they may need:
- Remember to stay level-headed – even though others may want to hurt you with their words, do not let them win by crumbling down. Try to remain positive, focused on your studies and hobbies, and leave the room whenever possible – in case bullying gets extremely offensive, there may be escalation, and it is safer to remove yourself from the situation.
- Tell the adult person you trust about the verbal bullying. It may be a parent, an older sibling, a guidance counselor, or a teacher who may even confirm the harassment you have been dealing with in case anyone questions your statements. Make sure your story is true and detailed so that the grown-up you speak to knows the name of every individual who tried to hurt you.
- Write down everything that has happened to you. Journaling is a great relaxation practice – imagine that you are leaving all the negativity in the past as soon as the words are on the page of your diary and free yourself from the emotional burden instead of carrying it around for a long time.
What Is Anti-Bullying?
Anti-bullying refers to a combination of rules, laws, and programs whose purpose is to prevent bullying or put an end to it if it does happen. Any school administration should come up with a set of guidelines for its students even if there have been no complaints about bullying yet – the prevention of bullying is always key to a positive atmosphere in an academic institution. Inform students of all ages about verbal harassment (meaning and consequences for everyone involved) – and create a safe environment to ensure the children and teenagers do not feel scared to report a bully to an adult.
FAQs
- Why is bullying bad?
No matter the reason – and in many instances, there is none – bullying is unacceptable. There is no justification for a young person to become the target of insults and jokes, especially if they are under attack at a place where they are supposed to concentrate on studying. Verbal bullying may also escalate to fights, and any physical altercations at school must be punished.
- Can a young child suffer from bullying when they are homeschooled?
Unfortunately, bullying can not be fully prevented when the kid no longer attends school – whether they spend some time at home or you make an effort to homeschool them, cyberbullying can follow them online and dampen their mood even when they are no longer in the vicinity of their bullies.
- Bullying prevention: what does not work?
When your goal is to prevent verbal bullying, remember about certain tactics that will only bring harm – if you tell a young person not to snitch on their bullying classmates because it is not their problem to intervene or if you let the young kid know they are responsible for finding a solution themselves, this will only make the situation worse.
- What is the social bullying?
Social bullying is done with the purpose of hurting someone’s reputation or personal relationships – for example, it may involve false rumors, spreading gossip, and encouraging other people to turn against the target of the bullying.
- What can adults do to prevent bullying?
Whether you worry about your child becoming a bully or a victim of bullying, there should be a conversation about it when the kid is young – let them know how bad bullying is, make sure they know to talk to you or their teachers if anything upsets them at school, and take time to learn more about their friends to ensure your child has peers to interact with and feel safe.
