How to avoid getting bullied
More than 50% of school children are bullied at school daily
A recent bullying survey has revealed that more than 50% of schoolchildren are being bullied in South African schools.
As the academic year begins, most parents fear the dangers and challenges their children could be exposed to in schools.
According to various studies, bullying consist of direct behaviours such as teasing, taunting, threatening, hitting and stealing from a victim.
This pattern of behaviour has also increased dramatically compared to previous years.
Whether direct or indirect, the key component of bullying is the physical or psychological intimidation which occurs repeatedly over time, creating an ongoing pattern of harassment and abuse.
How to get help
• Tell a trusted adult. Don’t worry about being called a ‘tattletale’ or worse. An adult can talk to the bully directly, to his or her parents, or to your teacher, and this has the highest success rate of ending bullying. If you don’t feel like talking to the adult face-to-face, you can always write a letter explaining what is happening.
• Don’t walk alone. Whenever possible, ask your friends to walk with you. If a friend isn’t around, either ask an adult to walk with you or wait until an adult is walking in the same direction and walk next to them.
• Avoid places where bullying happens. If a bully pushes you when he or she sees you in the hallway, try to stay out of that hallway at the same time. If you get picked on when you are sitting in the back of the bus, sit up front and near the driver. Stay away from unsupervised areas of the school and make sure you’re not alone in the bathroom, a classroom or the locker room.
• Leave your valuables at home. Don’t bring expensive items to school, such as jewellery, electronics or your best shoes or jacket. Label what’s yours – use a permanent marker to label your items so that there is no question that it belongs to you.
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