Why do kids bully?
What often starts as seemingly harmless teasing between children can quickly turn into intentionally hurtful behavior. Unlike adults, children are still developing emotionally, which means that they cannot fully understand the consequences that bullying can have on a person’s mental and physical well-being. This holds true for both victims of bullying and bullies themselves, as children who resort to tormenting others are often suffering themselves.
As adults, it is important to understand why some children pick on their peers, in order to help the little ones in our lives be better equipped, should they encounter bullying.
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Parental neglect
Children need positive attention in order to thrive. When the adults in their environment do not respond with warmth and interest to their requests, children might act disruptively in an attempt to become the centre of attention.
Negative role models
Although little ones learn a lot through imitation, they cannot discern which behaviours are healthy and desirable and which ones are not. If a parent, teacher, coach, or other role model resorts to harassment and intimidation, the child is likely to mimic them.
Bullying as a protective shield
When caregivers neglect their children’s physical or emotional needs, even unintentionally, distressing emotions can arise. In order to gain back some sense of control and find relief from their helplessness, children might start to bully, which grants them a feeling of power over others.
Sense of belonging
Children tend to be very impressionable. Around the teenage years especially, when children try to gain independence by distancing themselves from their parents, the need to belong somewhere grows dramatically. They’ll do almost anything to feel like they fit in; even if it means adopting their friends’ inappropriate behaviors.
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Bullying can be both verbal and physical, but in either case it is repeated and intentional. Informing our children of this can help them identify it when they see it, as well as put it into words should they experience it. However, there is no way to ensure that a child will always open up.
Simultaneously, as more and more aspects of daily life become digitized, parents can have a hard time monitoring the content that our little ones become exposed to. Fortunately, with the help of technology, we can monitor our children’s online interactions 24 hours a day, to ensure their safety and well-being.
More specifically, thanks to advanced algorithms and predictive intelligence, Bosco is able to alert you to the multitude of potential threats to your child’s emotional well-being, including tracking offensive language, inappropriate content, screen time, inappropriate photos, and your child’s mood, behavior and much more.
Bosco can help enhance parental attainment, which in turn keeps children properly nurtured and protected.
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