Bullying in Young Children

Bullying

Three year olds can bully. Yes, daycares, preschool and home cares can be witness to said behavior at such a young age. 

Educators have a unique opportunity to prevent and stop bullying behavior and to encourage the development of good social relations.

Teachers of young children frequently overlook it for many reasons. They may believe that children are too young to bully and that they aren’t able to harm other peers in the classroom. Teachers may not acknowledge or may ignore unacceptable behaviors, believing they are just kids. Teachers may also fail to see the bullying as there is less supervision these days……..teacher shortages! They may also fail to understand that bad conduct at a young age may turn into serious bullying at an older age.

Once understood and witnessed educators have a better understanding of bullying, this opens eyes to confronting it quickly.

Bullying must be addressed soon or it will grow.

If bullying in the early years is ignored, young children who bully will continue to bully when older, their victims will continue to suffer. Unaddressed, others may learn they too can act out in the same way with no consequences. If unchecked, patterns of bullying may continue into the teenage years and even adulthood. Eventually personal and social relationships can turn into abusive domestic and legal situations.

Bullying can be prevented.

When educators are trained to address bullying effectively, they can provide bully free environments.  Research and best practices provide the knowledge and the strategies to keep children safe in the classroom.

Educators can help children learn social skills to interact in positive ways and to develop resilience against bullying.

Prevention

In order to help prevent and stop bullying in the class and home environment there are many things that educators need to be aware of and be prepared to do.