Cerullo shares startling bullying statistics

 
Guest Speaker Claudio Cerullo shared startling statistics concerning the lives of bullies, those affected by bullying and the community addressing bullying.
Statistics included the amount of teens that witness bullying, when bullying behavior tends to start, the likelihood of bullying ceasing when someone intervenes and the amount of kids who have committed suicide as a result of bullying since 1999.
“Between 1999 and 2010 342 children and teens have committed suicide as a direct result of bullying,” Cerullo said.
Cerullo, anti-bullying expert, speaker, educator and founder of Teach Anti-Bullying Inc. shared statistics of teens witnessing bullying.
“More than 50 percent of teens witness bullying, that’s according to the Center for Disease control,” said Cerullo.
Cerullo addressed how to handle a child who tells an adult they are impacted by a bully or constant bullying.
“Take complaints of bullying seriously, reassure your child they have the right to talk to you about the problem and make teachers and caregivers aware of the situation and the people involved,” Cerullo said.
The presentation even shared best practices to handle a child bullying other children.
“It is just as important to address the child doing the bullying as it is to address the child being bullied. Spend time with child daily, know where your children are and with whom, make it clear the behavior is not tolerated, arrange for non violent consequence, reward good behavior and teach positive ways of problem solving,” Cerullo said.
Tools to prevent bullying in the school system and among school age children include: Creating a definition of understanding about bullying, initiating a anti-bullying pact and a school wide anti-bullying board (consisting of community, parents, teachers and law enforcement).
“When people intervene, bullying stops within 10 seconds, 57 percent of the time,” Cerullo said.
The mission of Teach Anti-Bullying Inc is to raise awareness and support families and children who are being impacted by bully-related issues in their school or community.
“Children who get bullied often stand out due to physical appearance, gender orientation, intellect, socio-economic background, religious background and are profiled as non-threatening,” Cerullo said.
Cerullo engaged and encouraged parents, teachers, and conference participants in effective strategies and plans for handling bullying.
​”Every organization has to have a clear and specific policy for bullying. Fighting back is not an effective strategy,” Cerullo said.
Girls tend to be social bullies while boys are likely to be verbal or physical bullies.
“Kids aren’t born bad, they are victims of society, and their external variables. No child comes out of the womb bad,”Cerullo said.
Signs of children being bullied include; Cuts, bruises, scratches, lacerations, headaches, stomach aches, damaged or missing belongings, withdrawal/shyness, anxiety, depression and even aggression.
“Children who bully, come from any economic, cultural or religious backgrounds. It often starts in late elementary or middle school,” Cerullo said.
Cerullo was the keynote speaker at Bullying: A call for action conference organized by Southern University’s Division of Continuing Education.
For more information about how bullying can be addressed in the community visit www.teachantibullying.com.