56. Are you Bully Bait?

Researchers have begun scrutinizing the phenomenon of bullying. What they are finding is as sad as it is alarming:

Bullies are a special breed of children. The vast majority of children (60 to 70 percent) are never involved in bullying, either as perpetrators or victims. Early in development, most children acquire internal restraints against such behavior. But those who bully do it consistently.

Their aggression starts at an early age.
It takes a very specific set of conditions to produce a child who can start fights, threaten or intimidate a peer (“Give me the jump rope or I’ll kill you”), and actively inflict pain upon others.
Bullying causes a great deal of misery to others, and its effects on victims last for decades, perhaps even a lifetime.
The person hurt most by bullying is the bully himself, though that’s not at first obvious, and the negative effects increase over time.
Most bullies have a downwardly spiraling course through life, their behavior interfering with learning, friendships, work, intimate relationships, income, and mental health.

Tune in to learn more about bullies and victims and how to deal with bullies yourself and / or help a child deal with a bully.

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