The editorial on child bullying (TMID, 10 February), made interesting reading.

As you said, child bullying can take various forms but I believe that although physical abuse might look uglier at first glance, it is the psychological kind of bullying that causes the most damage.

A kick and a punch may hurt at the time, and such behaviour is to be condemned. But what is most appalling is the continuous harassing of boys and girls in a psychological way.

The example you gave – of the beanie being ripped off a child’s head and being tossed about – is only one example. There are many others. A child could be consciously left out of team games, and this would have a devastating effect on him or her. A child could be repeatedly told that he or she is no good at a given game, and this would result in loss of self-confidence.

These incidents on most occasions happen far away from adult eyes, as the bully knows that what he or she is doing is wrong. Adults should however still be very careful and immediately take action if they realise something is wrong. If, for example, they notice a boy or a girl who stays in a corner and does not play with anyone else during the break then something must be amiss.

Educators, as you rightly pointed out, must always be on the lookout because children do not speak up about their unhappy experiences.

M. Scerri

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