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Tuesday, December 03, 2024
Parents & Teachers / Did You Know?

Myths And Facts

Despite increasing research and publicity about bullying, several myths still exist. See if you can separate the myths from the facts below:

Children who bully are loners.

Is this a Myth or a Fact?

This statement is a Myth
This myth has been proven wrong by research that shows bullies tend to have a following of peers who approve of their behavior or at least go along with it.

"Sticks and stones may break your bones, but names can never hurt you."

Is this a Myth or a Fact?

This statement is a Myth
As any professional knows, this childhood nursery rhyme is not true. Verbal and emotional bullying, both direct and indirect, does hurt children. Physical bullying is easier to recognize. A more realistic rhyme is "sticks and stones can break your bones but words can break your heart".

All children can get bullied, even if they look "normal."

Is this a Myth or a Fact?

This statement is a Fact
All children can potentially be victims regardless of how "normal" or different they may seem. As an earlier section pointed out, the reasons why a child may become a victim of bullying are endless. That doesn't mean children who are "different" do not get bullied. They do.

Most adults think bullying is the same as normal peer conflict.

Is this a Myth or a Fact?

This statement is a fact
Bullying can often be difficult to discern from rough play or normal conflict. A study on the ability of lunchtime supervisors to distinguish students' play fighting from true aggression found that supervisors were more likely to mistake aggression for play than the reverse.

Only a small number of children are affected by bullying.

Is this a Myth or a Fact?

This statement is a Myth
Just about every student in a school may be affected by bullying, either as a victim, the bully him/herself, or as a witness. As bystanders, students are often confused and fear for their own safety. A conservative estimate is that 10 percent of students are chronic victims of bullying.

Parents can help prevent bullying by becoming involved in their child's schooling.

Is this a Myth or a Fact?

This statement is a fact
Many adults don't know about bullying, either with their own children or in the schools. Many parents are not aware of what goes on in their child's school. Many students believe adults will not intervene even if they do report the bullying.

Bullying happens mostly in plain sight of others.

Is this a Myth or a Fact?

This statement is a Myth
Most bullying behavior occurs out of the sight of any adult, so adults need the cooperation of students to alert them to the behavior. Students need to know that the adults will take swift and appropriate action in their defense.

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