Child bullying is not a modern-day phenomenon. All adults will remember witnessing at least one case of bullying when they were young. Very often, what they remember most is the case in which they were directly involved, although perhaps, at the time, they did not realise that what happened then was, in effect, child bullying.

These days, however, the matter receives more attention, especially in the media, because a lot of effort and time has been invested in tackling the problem. Child bullying may not be as rampant today as it was in the past, but it is certainly an issue that needs to be seen to before it causes considerable physical and psychological damage to the individual.

As in other cases of abuse, only a fraction of child bullying cases are reported to educators and parents, let alone to higher authorities. And, like all other types of abuse, this largely happens because the abuser has so much power over the victim – threatening to abuse the victim even more if he or she dares to speak out. In most cases, the victim is too scared of the abuser and unwillingly agrees.

Child bullying can take various forms. It can be physical abuse, with older, stronger children pushing and shoving younger, weaker ones – in extreme cases punching and kicking them too. Sometimes, group bullying takes place as well, with a group of children targeting a weaker member of their class or school.

Bullying can also take the form of constant teasing. For example, a child may be wearing a beanie and this is ripped off his or her head and thrown around from one child to another as the victim desperately tries to get it back. If this happens once, it might be taken as a joke, but if it happens repeatedly and is linked to other incidents, then it can be classified as bullying too.

There is also social bullying. For example, upper class children can bully others because their shoes are torn or because their shirt is a size too small. Children from the same school might also bully others who go to another school when they meet at other activities in football nurseries or during dance lessons.

Bullying can also be psychological, and this too has serious, negative effects on the victim. Repeated denigrating comments and insults may lead victims to lose their self-confidence. A child who was enthusiastic about playing football might no longer join the group and retreat

within himself if he is continuously told that he is not a good player.

Another, much worse, example is when the victim is repeatedly bullied into doing things he or she does not want to, or is forced to commit a petty crime such as taking money from a parent’s purse or wallet to hand over to the bully.

Although the degree of bullying varies, it nonetheless can have a devastating effect on the afflicted child. Very often, the bullied child feels alone, in a trap, because he or she does not have the courage to fight back. If persistent, bullying can also have lasting effects on the victims.

In this respect, educators – parents, teachers, coaches and other people in positions of authority – must be on the lookout for tell-tale signs. No form of bullying should be dismissed as simply “usual behaviour among children”, but should be tackled in the right way.

It is not easy for a bullied child to speak out while experiencing the trauma, and so in most cases it is up to the educators to realise what is going on and take action immediately. The earlier the bullying problem is recognised and tackled, the easier it might be to solve and prevent further cases, but more importantly, the trauma on the victim will be lessened.