Bullying can have a pernicious effect on young lives, with the psychological legacy often lasting long after any bruises might have faded. This is why it is concerning to hear bullying is particularly prevalent in local schools, with children as young as 4 falling prey.
Finding a solution can be equally vexing but it needs to be multifaceted, involving the schools and the families of those affected. As we reported this week, two international experts who visited the Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation in Abu Dhabi to discuss bullying in early childhood said more emphasis is now being placed on preventive strategies, including the need to crack down early on behaviour such as teasing before it escalates into actual bullying.
Dr Ron Slaby, a developmental psychologist, and Dr Kim Storey, a child development specialist, said bullied children often will not make a direct complaint, so parents and schools need to be aware of changes in behaviour that might indicate a problem. These include reluctance to go to school, anxiety about separation from parents, low self-esteem and a drop in appetite.
Although children of all nationalities can suffer from bullying, the high number of expatriates here also needs to be considered when addressing the problem.
Those children who find themselves needing help with any of the many problems that young people encounter – whether that be bullying, depression or eating disorders – often only have immediate family members here, which supports the case for the creation of informal support groups to remedy this deficiency and provide a place for both parents and children to seek advice. As one parent, whose 15-year-old son committed suicide in 2013, noted: “Nobody tells you what to do, or how to support your child, you’re just expected to know.”
It is also true that schools often direct their response to bullying at the victim and not at the perpetrator. Having a nascent bully attend courses designed to foster empathy and anger management could not only prevent bad behaviour becoming entrenched but also avoid dozens of future victims having their childhoods blighted. There are few easy solutions to a problem such as bullying, but openly discussing the issue, enlisting the help of experts and taking a holistic approach involving schools, victims and perpetrators will all help improve matters.
