Bully Busters
“Bullying” is currently a hot-topic in national and local media forums. It is true that increased awareness, instruction, strategies, and preventative measures deserve paramount attention; and it is equally important for adults to understand the difference between bullying and peer conflict.
The truth is, not every incident that occurs is categorized as “bullying.” An unfortunate peer-conflict situation or an incident of unnecessary bothering will include different supports/processing than that of a bullying situation. Check out the chart below for a more detailed explanation of the difference. (Adapted from Bully-Proofing Your School, 2004)
The truth is, not every incident that occurs is categorized as “bullying.” An unfortunate peer-conflict situation or an incident of unnecessary bothering will include different supports/processing than that of a bullying situation. Check out the chart below for a more detailed explanation of the difference. (Adapted from Bully-Proofing Your School, 2004)
Peer Conflict
1. Peers have equal power 2. Conflict happens occasionally or rarely 3. May be accidental 4. Not serious; no threat of harm 5. Equal emotional reaction from both peers 6. Not seeking power or attention and not trying to gain something 7. General remorse- will want to take responsibility 8. Effort on both sides to solve the problem |
Bullying
1. Imbalance of power between peers 2. Repeated negative action that happens often 3. Purposefully done 4. Serious with threat of physical or emotional harm 5. Strong emotional reaction from target; little or no emotional reaction from bully 6. Seeking power, control, or material things 7. No remorse- bully blames target; no guilt from bully 8. No effort to solve problem |
Children and Grief
Like adults, children experience grief and loss in a variety of ways. Additionally, whether or not they have experienced previous losses, and their developmental level of growth has a lot to do with their reaction to such a difficult emotion. If your family is experiencing or has experienced a loss, feel free to contact me for resources to help your child. The website below is a great starting point for talking to your young child about grief and loss.