It seems like there’s endless advice on how to be a good parent, all with the same goal in mind – raising kind, empathetic children.
So, finding out that your child has been bullying someone can be disappointing, at best. At worst, it can be destabilising – making parents question whether they’ve been following the right guidance after all.
Though parents overwhelmingly feel that bullying is destructive, up to 20% of children will bully someone during their elementary through high school careers, according to a study by the American Journal of Public Health.
This harms all the kids involved, too. The same research found that both bullies and victims experience higher rates of mental health issues and are more likely to go on to struggle in school and other parts of their lives – with bullies experiencing delinquency and victims struggling to adjust in social interactions as they get older.
English (US)