ABSTRACT

In the day-to-day rough and tumble of school life, just as in the workplace, sometimes relationships become difficult and a pattern of behaviour emerges that is unhelpful and can be hurtful. In a minority of cases, bullying can get serious, to the extent that it makes a child so unhappy that she or he becomes isolated in school and shows signs of stress at home such as wetting the bed, becoming suddenly moody and aggressive, or having unexplained aches and pains, particularly on school mornings. Children are reluctant to tell adults when they feel that they are being bullied. This may be because they are afraid that if they do, any action taken to stop it will make it worse. There are probably other, more complicated and subtle reasons, maybe very good reasons, to keep it quiet. So if adults want to help, they need to intervene gently.