What is bullying?
Do you think you're being bullied? To answer that question, it helps to know exactly what bullying is - and what it's not. Basically, bullying is when a kid keeps picking on another because they think they're stronger, better, cooler or smarter than them. Children bully others to try and make the other kid feel bad.
Sometimes it can be hard to know if what you are experiencing is truly bullying, so here are some clues to help:
- Bullying happens on purpose - it's never an accident
- Bullying is aggressive and the victim doesn't provoke it
- Bullying hurts the target in some way - physically or emotionally
- Bullying doesn't happen just once - it's usually repeated
- Bullying is about power (more for the bully, less for the victim)
There are lots of different kinds of bullying, too:
- Physically attacks (punching, kicking, slapping, shoving, etc.)
- Embarrassing someone in a hurtful way
- Repeatedly threatening to do something terrible to someone
- Spreading nasty rumours that are meant to hurt someone
- Constantly picking on a kid because of their appearance, race, clothing or something else
- Bullying can happen in person, online or both
- Sometimes it involves 'ganging up', with more than one bully
Bullying is serious and can be incredibly harmful to kids - but not all bad behaviour at school is bullying. For example, these situations are NOT bullying:
- A child (or group of children) who doesn't want to play with you
- Someone getting mad and then yelling at you or calling you names
- Someone accidentally hurting you when you're playing a game
- Someone getting back at you after you've done something to them
- Someone picking on you or wanting to fight (just a one-time thing)
If you believe you're being bullied, tell a responsible adult - a teacher, a coach, a counsellor or your parents. There's also the Kids Helpline - 1800 55 1800. The quicker you get help, the quicker something can be done. Even if you're not the one being picked on, it's important to report bullying - just imagine how you would feel if it was happening to you.