How Big Is the Problem?
What is bullying?
In the Steps to Respect program, children learn the following definition: Bullying is unfair and one-sided. It happens when someone keeps hurting, frightening, threatening, or leaving someone out on purpose.
Bullying may consist of hitting, teasing, taunting, spreading rumors and gossip, stealing, or excluding someone from a group. It is carried out with the intent to harm someone.
Bullying is often a repeated activity. However, bullying may also occur as a one-time event. Bullying always involves a power imbalance. The person bullying has more power due to such factors as age, size, strength, support of friends, or access to resources (such as toys and other belongings), and uses this power in a deliberately hurtful way.
What are some statistics?
Bullying is a big story in the news, but what are the statistics behind the story? It’s important to look at the numbers to understand how far-reaching the problem is.
• Nine out of ten elementary students report being bullied by their peers.¹
• Nearly one in three students ages 12 to 18 reports being bullied at school.²
• An estimated 160,000 children miss school every day due to fear of attack or intimidation by
other students.³
• One recent study estimated the potential cost of bullying to a 1,000-student high school to exceed
$2 million a year in absenteeism, truancy, suspensions, disciplinary actions, and vandalism.⁴
¹ "Psychometric Properties of the Peer Interactions in Primary School (PIPS) Questionnaire," Tarshis,
T. P. &
Huffman, L. C. Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, 28 (2): 125-132, April 2007.
² U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, Indicators of School Crime and
Safety, 2009.
³ National Education Association, 2010.
⁴ National Association of Secondary School Principals, The Financial Costs of Bullying,
Violence and Vandalism, 2010.
What can parents do to keep their kids safe?
• Encourage your kids to talk about bullying. Assure them you will listen and take action if they
come to you.
• Look for signs that children are being bullied, such as requests to stay home from school,
unexplained mild illnesses, and problems sleeping.
• Advocate for clear policies about bullying at your child’s school and for bullying prevention to
be addressed in the classroom.
• Empower children to speak up when they see someone being bullied by saying something like,
"You know what, I don’t think that’s funny," and walking away. This changes the dynamic by
depriving the child who bullies of an audience.
• Set age-appropriate boundaries for the use of technology and teach your children appropriate
online social skills. Tell them to turn off the computer or cell phone if they are being bullied and
to tell you about it.
• If you are concerned about bullying at your child’s school, talk to the principal. Many states
have laws in place that require schools to develop and act on bullying policies.
