Bullying is the repeated, harmful behavior of one person or group towards another, often involving a power imbalance. It can take the form of physical violence, verbal abuse, or psychological torment. Bullying can occur both in person and online (Anti Bullying Alliance).
Anti-bullying week is a dedicated period each year where schools, organizations, and individuals come together to raise awareness about bullying and promote a culture of kindness and respect.
Anti-Bullying Week 2024 will take place from Monday 11th – Friday 15th November, with the theme: Choose Respect.
School bullying is a type of aggression that occurs in schools. It involves repeated negative behaviors that harm another individual or group. This can include physical violence, verbal abuse, emotional torment, or social isolation. Bullying often involves a power imbalance, where one person or group has more power or influence over another.
Here are some common types of school bullying:
Singapore, often praised for its high standards of education and safety, has been grappling with a growing concern: school bullying. Despite the nation’s efforts to foster a harmonious and supportive learning environment, we need to work together to ensure that incidents of school bullying in Singapore do not continue to occur.
Based on the awareness of school bullying, as illustrated in the infographics above, we can see that school bullying can occur even in early education, with approximately 3% of students affected. This has raised significant concerns among parents and teachers about creating a bullying-free environment in schools and ensuring students feel safe.
Unfortunately, many students do not disclose instances of bullying, which is a cause for concern. A more open attitude is crucial for fostering a bullying-free environment in early education. Teachers and parents play a vital role in this regard, as some students have confided in them about being bullied.
If you, as a parent or teacher, suspect that your child or student is being bullied, here are some key signs to watch for:
Early education plays a crucial role in preventing school bullying. By fostering a positive and inclusive learning environment from a young age, schools can help prevent bullying behaviors among students. What are the roles of early education in terms of against bullying in school? let’s find out together!
One of the most effective ways to prevent bullying in early education or to prevent bullying in school is to create a positive and inclusive school environment. If teachers can place anti-bullying posters on school walls, their students can send a clear message to students that bullying will not be tolerated.
These anti-bullying posters can serve as a constant reminder of the importance of kindness, respect, and empathy among their students in early education.
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a framework that focuses on teaching and reinforcing positive behaviors. It also involves providing positive reinforcement for these behaviors and addressing challenging behaviors in a proactive way.
Child physiologists said parents and teachers could create a welcoming and supportive environment where all students feel valued and treated with respect, giving simple lessons for early education students to understand kindness, empathy, and how to treat someone right, not rudely.
We have tips from Dr Vivien Yang from Bloom Child Psychology and Jiayong Lin from Annabelle Psychology to manage the bullying that mostly happens between young ages and to prevent bullying in preschool:
Dr Vivien gave more explanation for things that parents or teachers can do to manage the bullying between their students on their children, such as:
Whether you are a parent or a teacher, one of the most important things you can do to prevent bullying is to spread kindness by role-modeling and promoting kindness and compassion for others, such as through storybooks. We can guide children to talk about their feelings and understand others’ feelings when bullied.
We can encourage them to befriend the lonely child and get help when they see others being bullied. In preschools, we can offer praise and recognition (e.g. awards) to children who show kindness towards others. Another strategy to promote empathy is a daily check-in where students have the opportunity to share how they are feeling, e.g. “I feel sad because my baby sister is sick”. The teacher can then guide other children to empathize and offer kind words in response, e.g. “I hope she feels better soon!”
The most common reason for interpersonal aggression among young children is possession disputes, such as fighting over play materials. Thus, it is important to teach children social-emotional skills like turn-taking, anger management, and problem-solving.
We can also teach children to respond to bullies assertively and engage them in role-play practice to build their confidence. This includes bystanders of bullying, who can stand up to the bully by telling them to stop and informing the teacher.
In general, boys tend to engage in more physical bullying (e.g. pushing, kicking), while girls tend to engage in more relational bullying (e.g. exclusion from games or peer groups). Teachers should pay more attention to children who may be vulnerable to bullying, such as children who appear different and those with special educational needs who are more likely to be socially excluded.
Studies have shown that bullies tend to target children with no friends or are perceived as different such as in terms of their appearance, behaviour, or other characteristics. Teachers can also assign kind and assertive buddies to befriend children who may be vulnerable to bullying.
Parents and teachers can establish a trusting relationship so that the child knows they can come to you if they are being bullied. Parents can also look out for potential signs such as refusal to go to school, anxiety (e.g. tummy aches), nightmares, appetite changes, or missing or damaged belongings. While it may be upsetting for parents to hear about their child being bullied, it is important to stay calm, acknowledge your child’s feelings, and praise your child for telling you. Avoid giving overly simplistic advice, such as telling your child to “just ignore” the bullying.
Instead, assure your child that you understand how they feel and will support them in solving the problem, e.g. “Let’s think about what we can do to make things better.” This could include things your child could do next time it happens, and informing the teacher.
The way bullying incidents are handled can also influence the outcomes and whether they are likely to recur. Teachers should take all incidents of bullying seriously, and not frame it as tattling as this may result in children being afraid to come forward when bullied. It is important to send a clear message that bullying is unacceptable.
Rather than simply reprimanding the bully and forcing an apology, teachers can guide the children to understand the impact of their actions on others e.g. “How did you think Mary felt when you told others not to talk to her?” and to take restorative steps to repair the harm done e.g. “What can we do instead to be a kind friend to Mary?”
In more details, Mr Jiayong Lin explained, that the first step is to gain a comprehensive understanding of why bullying occurs and who is targeted. While individual cases may vary, bullying often serves as a means of control, a way to draw group boundaries, or a method of establishing social hierarchies, even among young children.
Consequently, targets of bullying are frequently children who appear physically weaker, are quieter, have fewer resources or abilities, are socially isolated, and/or are different in ways that hinder their integration.
To address these issues, simply informing a teacher or other adult is often insufficient as they may not always be present to provide support. Moreover, it can draw further attention to the child’s vulnerability or difference. Therefore, it is crucial to develop the child’s socio-emotional competencies to enable them to integrate socially, build positive peer relationships, and express themselves constructively. This will help them develop healthy self-esteem, attract support, and deter bullies.
Parents play a vital role in promoting healthy self-regulatory practices through parent-child co-regulation. This involves actively listening to the child, empathising with their experiences, validating their feelings, and encouraging reflection and verbal expression.
This helps the child make sense of their emotions and believe that their voice matters. During pretend play and small-group activities, parents can facilitate the development of socio-emotional reciprocity by modelling appropriate social interactions and responses and help the child to relate better to their peers and seek their support.
In addition to academic skills, exposing the child to a variety of activities and interests can help them discover their strengths and build healthy self-esteem. These foundational skills will enable the child to integrate into the preschool environment and reduce the risk of bullying.
Many schools in Singapore and Malaysia have implemented successful anti-bullying strategies in early education like developing and implementing comprehensive anti-bullying awareness training for their teachers to help them have more sensitivity to know which students in their Kindergarten or Montessori might be being bullied in school.
As a great example, you can show what Maple Leaf Kingsley International School in Malaysia did in terms of creating their school to be a safe environment for every student:
Above are only some of the Maple Leaf Kingsley International School success stories in building a bully-free environment school. At Kingsley, there are no tolerances for school bullying. They are very committed to creating a Bully-free environment and helping those affected.
Maple Leaf Kingsley International School is dedicated to creating a secure and nurturing learning environment. They invest in their staff and facilities to provide a safe space where students can thrive. Their mission extends beyond academics to instill strong values and empower students to reach their full potential. This commitment includes a strong anti-bullying policy and ongoing efforts to promote respect and kindness.
In Singapore, we have some organizations that you can count on if you find your kids being bullied in school, some of these organizations have a bully-free program, such as:
Children’s Society’s Bully-Free Programme has addressed the issue of school bullying and its impact on those involved, since 2004. The program aims to promote a safe and supportive culture in schools with a zero-tolerance stand towards bullying. In addition, our work aims to raise awareness on the topic among children, youth, parents, teachers, and counselors through talks, workshops, camps, campaigns, and roadshows.
Let’s work together with Twinkl Singapore to create a bully-free world and to ensure that all children are not getting bullied!
