Bullies

In order to change the behaviour of bullies it is important that we understand them. Most people find it difficult to comprehend bullying. How could people be so cruel? What would make someone want to hurt people? In this article, I would to offer you some insight into the mind of a bully so that you have a starting point for designing some ideas which can help to change the way they behave. Most bullies don’t know they are bullies. They don’t... Read More

Bullying Advice for Parents

It can be incredibly frustrating being a parent of a child who is being bullied. Most parents would do anything to protect their children from being deliberately harmed by others but often they can feel powerless to help. It can be especially frustrating when you know your child is being bullied but they won’t tell you about it. Or if they do, they will give a vague description of what is going on, likely missing out the very details you want... Read More

Bullying in Schools

It is very likely that more school pupils suffer from bullying than any other group of people. Children are in the process of developing their social skills. They are learning what they can and can’t do in social situation, what works and what doesn’t and what they can or can’t get away with. This completely natural process, where everyone is discovering their possibilities and limitations, is bound to breed bullying behaviour. Teachers and... Read More

How to help your child

It can be incredibly frustrating being a parent of a child who is being bullied. Most parents would do anything to protect their children from being deliberately harmed by others but often they can feel powerless to help. It can be especially frustrating when you know your child is being bullied but they won’t tell you about it. Or if they do, they will give a vague description of what is going on, likely missing out the very details you want... Read More

Respect Me Annual Conference

Today I attended Respect Me’s annual conference. I thought it was really good. They had lots of inspirational ideas and a great overall focus. The main theme was on children’s rights. Children have the right to an education and have the right to be protected from harm within schools. Additionally, they have the right to know what their rights are. I like this focus. I’m all for empowering children. When implemented well, it empowers... Read More

Bullying is Subjective

What are your definitions of bullying? Are those definitions useful to you? One of the major problem schools have in dealing with bullying is in how they define it. It’s not just a paper exercise in thinking up labels, it makes a massive difference as to whether the organisation takes action as result of an incident or not. If you have a child who is being bullied at school, the school will only help them if the teachers believe that whatever has... Read More

“Bully made me suicidal”

Let’s begin this blog by comparing physical and verbal bullying. Last week the BBC reported the story of a 14 year old girl who decided to commit suicide. A boy taunted her with racist insults over a period of 7 months AFTER the school stepped in to deal with the problem. She felt she couldn’t confide in any of her teachers and the school had advised her against getting her Mother involved again. Fortunately, her suicide attempt failed.... Read More

Can Dads stop and ask for directions?

For school bullying, the vast majority of people who contact me are Mums. If they like what they hear, they then have to consult the Dad and their child to discuss whether or not to ask me to get involved. If a potential client doesn’t book, it is usually the Dads who ‘put their foot down’ and said no to the idea. It seems that the Dads mostly want to be able to solve the problem themselves – even if they don’t really... Read More

Case Study Part 1

On Saturday I worked with a client in London. Both he and his Dad have already written about their experience on an online forum and are keen for me to use them as a case study. I have sent this to them for approval before posting. Here is an outline of Charlie’s situation: He has been bullied physically, regularly, over a 2 year period. Specifically, he was being beaten up by large groups of boys. The bullies would pre-arrange what they were going... Read More

Get in The Corner to talk about bullying

Yesterday, ‘The Herald’ newspaper published an article on a poll by ‘The Corner’. The main outcome showed that: “Young people have a high awareness of bullying, but often don’t know what to do about it, or who to turn to” I have become increasing sceptical of bullying awareness campaigns. It is important to know what is going on in schools and workplaces, of course. But no bullying awareness campaign will... Read More