BULLYING & DISRESPECT

We live in a culture of bullying, disrespect, and incivility, BUT . . . we don't have to accept that! We can change the culture by changing one student, one child, one of our own actions and attitudes at a time.

When children are not taught civility, they live selfish. They try to make themselves feel better by putting others down. Children who are left unsupervised and who are not intentionally taught kindness and respect often resort to bullying, disrespect, and incivility.

Bullying and Disrespect

1. Are at their worst for children between the ages of 9-16 (Crawford, 2016)

2. Happen to 80% of tweens and teens (Patchin & Hinduja, 2000)

3. Include behaviors due to carelessness and inattention (Spadafora, 2022)

4. Can be done in-person or online (Patchin & Hinduja, 2020)

5. Cause substance use, mental health problems, and even suicide (Moore et al., 2017; Pacer, 2020)

6. Result in the bully not being liked by peers (Spadafora, 2022)

7. Take place in the hallway at school (Pacer, 2020)

8. Compromise learning (Spadafora, 2022)

9. Are glorified in social media, video games, and music (Lehman, 2022)

10. Can be curbed with intentional consequences (Spadafora, 2022)

While these are sobering statistics, we do not have to be stuck in them. We can change the facts. We have a choice in how we raise our children. It starts with us. It starts with awareness of the way children speak and act toward each other and even those in authority. But, it doesn’t end there. We Can Change!