No matter what we do our kids will come face to face with bullying in one way or another. Either they deal with the effects, become the bully themselves, or just see it on the school yard. 70.6% of all young people have said they have seen bullying. And it’s bullying statistics like these that encouraged us to begin stepping up for children across Dayton, Ohio.
Who is a Bully – Bullying Statistics
With so many kids saying they’ve seen bullying in their school it’s not surprising to find out that 30% of children admit to bullying others. What is surprising is that we don’t really have a profile of which kids are more likely to do the bullying. In movies and TV we are often told that the bully is someone whose family has it rough or is going through a hard time but bullying statistics don’t really follow that narrative.
A bully can be someone rich, poor, well connected, with one parent or two, and can even be the victim of bullying themselves. What we do know thanks to bullying statistics is that children than fall under the later of being bullied and also bullying tend to be the ones who suffer most from behavioral, mental health and academic problems.
What We Know About Bullying
Our 2019 bullying statistics has not just helped us to find new solutions but has also revealed some surprising facts about the phenomenon. What you might not know is that bullying occurs mainly in middle school and cyber bullying is one of the rarest types of recorded instances. Although high school is what is mainly shown in the media, only 12% of high school students report having experienced bullying while 28% of middle schoolers report having been bullied. Cyber bulling is another interesting bullying statistic that has been getting more attention but has only been reported in 15% of all cases reported where name-calling has been reported in 44.2%.
We picture bullying happening between one bully and one victim in areas with few witnesses but according to the most recent bullying statistics 29.3% report bullying in the classroom, 29% report bullying in hallways between classes, and 23.4% report bullying in the cafeteria. Bullying is often reported as a group activity. It’s normally more than one bully and often occurs where there is the highest number of other children around.
What We Can Do to Prevent Bullying
Although no one way has been found to be 100% effective in preventing bullying, having a multi-faceted plan is the best approach to reducing a schools statistics. This means that all of the administrators, teachers, bus drivers, and parents have to be working together to stop bullying when they see it. As a parent your best method is to make sure that you are focusing on the importance of treating others with kindness and respect. Keep an open line of communication with your children and make sure they understand that if they are bullied or they see someone get bullied they know to let someone know about it.
One method that has been found to not be effective is zero tolerance methods. Zero tolerance makes children feel less comfortable reporting bullying and does not stop bullies from bullying.