Effects of Bullying on Children

The old school parenting method dismissed bullying as an integral part of growing up primarily meant to embolden the weak, remove their fears and make them strong enough to face the society.In short , it was the human/inhumane way of ensuring survival of the fittest by weeding out the weak who would crumble under pressure while the rest would manage to stand up for themselves  .

The truth, however, couldn’t be farther from this hypothesis. Bullying, the act of domination of one over another, whether be it verbal or physical, has life-long ramifications on tender souls of the victim as well as the abuser and, well, theby-stander, too, who silently witnesses it without being able to gather the strength to raise his voice against it .

Bullying does nothing whatsoever to embolden oneself by vesting the young kid with supernatural powers to protect himself. On the very contrary, it leaves behind indelible scarsom impressionable minds, which in most cases have long-standing ramifications, well into their adult years.

The target of bullying is the worst-hit, though not the only one. Depression, anxiety, low self-esteem are the most tell-tale signs of bully abuse.

Lack of appetite, sleep disorder and a general sense of indifference towards friends, playtime and apathy, in general are the obvious symptoms.

A fear of authority, disinterest in continuing further education, downward spiralling academic graph creeps in their system, making them prone to substance – abuse, mental problems, even suicide .

In some rare cases, the effect of bully-abuse may push them over the ledge and make them prone to violent outbursts as is evident in the recent spate of gun-shooting cases in schools in U.S.

However, the corrosive effect of bullying doesn’t leave even its perpetrator unscathed. A fakse sense of bravado emanating from crushing the morale of peers and juniors with meanness lead to a permanent streak of aggressive behaviour, even in adult life, which may lead them to criminal activity and a skewed inter-personal relationships based on violence. Alcoholism, drug-abuse and school-dropouts are obvious fall-out of being the vehicle to such ruthlessness.

Even, the mute by-stander is not left unaffected.The exposure to this kind of violence,aggression and meanness, from such close quarters, without being able to stand up or raise one’s voice against it permanently dents the self-worth of a person. This gradually builds up to a lot of related psychological problems, substance-abuse and a general disregard for formal educational system.

Bullying, parse, is extremely detrimental to the safety and well-being of children, in particular and holistic development of a healthy society, at large. Unfettered, unaccounted and unchecked bullying might impede scores of children from reaching their full creative and academic potential. In the process,their innocence is irrevocably lost and childhood is irreparably damaged.

In such a scenario, it is imperative to train these young minds to be aware of the tell-tale signs of bullying and prepare them to bring it to the knowledge of their care-taker, guardian, school authorities, any adult who might be in a position to take action and help them in their mission to stand up and say “No” to Bullying then and there.

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