Bullying Children Articles

What’s The Answer to the question “Why do boys bully?”

By Mandy-Jane Clarke

In incident after incident, the answer to the question “Why do boys bully?” seems to garner these types of responses: “Because it’s their rite of passage.”  “It is part of the growth process.”  “Boys will be boys.”  If these responses anger you, imagine how the parents of victims must feel.

These statements are an ignorant display of how our culture has reinforced the belief that physicality is a natural part of the male psyche.  Dealing with bullying in schools has not measured up to the educational standards parents expect for their kids.  In fact, dealing with bullying is only commensurate with an act of violence which requires an incident report.  Otherwise, it is ignored.

Bullying aggression is commonplace in public schools, and depending upon the degree of verbal or physical abuse imposed upon another, the aggression can increase to violence which may include weapons.

According to school crime and safety statistics, 87% of victims involved in bullying aggression commented that “shootings are utilized to get back at those who hurt them.”  Columbine and West Virginia are perfect examples of how ignoring bullying aggression can cause tragic results.  The boys involved in these two school shootings were bullied as kids.  They became withdrawn, isolated, and maintained a dark and sadistic lifestyle.  These are all the signs of someone who will engage in bullying aggression, but more importantly answers the question posed earlier. “Why do boys bully?”  The answer is because they can.

Dealing with bullying has to begin at home before it can be dealt with on a school level.  Children as young as two years of age can become bullies.  They learn by example.  If they live in a home where verbal abuse and violence exist, they will come to believe this is the way they too should behave.

Bullying aggression has to stop.  It not only interferes with the learning process, but leads to increased absenteeism and dropout rates.  If students do not feel safe in schools, how can they possibly focus on the task at hand?  Studies confirm that bullying aggression progresses into violent adult behavior.  Statistics show that bullies are six times more likely to have a criminal conviction by the age of 20.

Why do boys bully?  Here is an analogy that may answer this question more fully.  A person who conducts a chat on the internet can become anyone they wish to be.  They can be as powerful as they wish, entice boys and girls to become their friends, and play the role of friend and foe at the same time.  Their inability to socialize face to face with adults or children allows them to wear a mask of deceit.  The same holds true for boys who bully.  They are playing a role.  They are wearing the masks that allow them to be supermen who can unleash a reign terror on anyone they choose.

Why do boys bully?  Because they can.

This article is courtesy of http://www.Stop-Bullies.com Stop-Bullies.com is a resource site covering specific areas of bullying including Boy Bullies.