What is bullying? Hitting, name-calling, exclusion, or other behavior that is meant to hurt another person. Bullying is often carried out by someone who has more power against someone who has less power.  For bullying to exist, it must satisfy three requirements:

1)  There is an imbalance of power.

2)  The aggressor must be bullying intentionally.

3)  It typically occurs over time and is not a onetime event.

What are the effects of bullying?  Bullying affects both targets and youth who bully. Targets of bullying are more likely to grow up depressed and anxious unless the bullying is stopped. Youth who bully are much more likely than non-bullies to become adult criminals.

Why not just tell kids to stand up for themselves or pretend it doesn’t bother them?

They’ve most likely already tried both of these interventions before asking us for help.  If these strategies worked, they would already have solved the problem.

What factors outside the family can increase bully-type behavior?

The more violent television, violent movies, violent video games, and music glorifying violence kids are exposed to, the more likely they are to solve problems in violent ways.  We can limit kids’ exposure to all these media.