Children can really enjoy playing with each other. Especially with very small children, people interact normally without making any distinctions. However, if one goes to school and the child enters puberty, one may be isolated from the group. Taunting, bullying and ridicule can then be the order of the day. It can take such serious forms that young people see no other way out. What can be done to achieve a collectively positive atmosphere at school?
Bullying and making fun of
- Always being teased
- It is done because of group behavior
- Why engage in bullying?
- What’s the easy way?
- Collective activation for right behavior
- Bullying and making fun of adults also occur
Always being teased
Some children are always teased from the time they are young. As mentioned, people have become everyone’s bully for life and will remain so as long as no action is taken. The young person has little or no ability to defend themselves against the influences of the group, which also causes their self-esteem to decline. People are increasingly dreading having to go back to school and encountering that group again. The teasing can worsen, causing the emotional damage to be too great. Every person has a psychological limit to which they can tolerate bullying, but after that they can start to behave strangely, potentially resulting in suicide.
It is done because of group behavior
Bullying is seen as power, where one young person belittles another in relation to the group. It is a form of prestige, in which the bully is encouraged by bystanders to harass him. In addition, it is a form of how far one can go and to see what actions the bully really wants to do. Please note that when taunting, the bully pushes the boundaries further and further, because he wants to impress the group. Because one person does it, another within the group is quickly encouraged to participate. It means that the group excludes a specific person or child or discriminates against that person. So the group is targeting that one person and is being harassed all the time. Because the group is large, the child may not be bullied as long as they are at home.
Why engage in bullying?
People participate in bullying because the group imposes it, as it were. People are afraid that the others will think: why isn’t he participating? That thought may lead to that person also being bullied. Negative feelings and not daring to take action against the group causes people to participate. Being among the bullies therefore means that one is not bullied.
What’s the easy way?
The child who regularly has to deal with taunting, bullying, hitting, etc. on a daily basis is having a very difficult time emotionally. The question is how people respond to the child at home. Parents who are never at home because of work do not see the problem and parents with loose hands can make the problem worse. Especially the adolescent child feels left out and understood by no one. The intense pressure will inevitably lead to the thought that it is better that one is no longer there. What can be done to avoid this situation?
Collective activation for right behavior
To break the negative trend in which children and young people feed on negativity, an awareness process must be initiated. This means that one is not reprimanded after a discovery, but must be removed for a long time. An atmosphere must be created in which bullying no longer occurs. Awareness among children that it is wrong and that something should be said about it is important. Positivity must be consciously dealt with in the classroom and an anti-bullying policy must be set up. The collective can easily tackle a bully by indicating that it is not right. By removing the power gained through the teasing there is less to no incentive to do it. By using group behavior for positivity and a bullying protocol at school, a lot of misery can be prevented. A positive group that every child wants to belong to, because they are not excluded.
Bullying and making fun of adults also occur
It is understandable how childish young people are, but bullying also occurs among adults. You would expect that adults should know better and set an example. However, at some companies there is simply a certain culture in which people frequently target the weaker. Because one is already big and strong, things can get completely out of hand. Teasing can result in degrading circumstances. It is therefore up to management to take adequate action against this before it gets worse. Please note that the directors are responsible for every member of staff, including those who are less able to stand up for themselves.
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