Yes! We have Dowen Colleges in our homes, in our places of work, in our places of worship and indeed in our environment.
When you as a parent beat the househelp like an animal, that child of yours is watching and learning.
When you are bragging ” I will kill you and nothing will happen” , your child’s subconscious mind is recording these..
When you keep on defending and denying your child’s behaviour at home and elsewhere instead of scolding and beating the demon out of him or her early enough, you are rearing a potential monster.
When you boast in front of your children how you dealt with this person or that person, they’re learning from you.
Always encourage your children to speak up and speak out, no matter what. Don’t always be in a haste to shout them down and assume you know what they wanted to say or why.
If a child suggests a change of school, try and find out why. Create that atmosphere of freedom so that your children will be able to tell you things.
According to a child psychologist, Dr Olufunmilayo Adewoyin, ” Child bully comes from the environment where the child is brought up. Such child feels he is the most important person around. He has over bloated ego. No other person matters. No one is like me”.
When a person is seen to use force, coercion and threat to dominate, harm or abuse someone, is known as bullying. It is a repeated form of behaviour and is a result of malicious intent and sadistic behavioural pattern.
There are various forms of bullying, thus;
I. Physical bullying– This takes the form of abuse where the victim is tortured or beaten to pulp as in the case of Sylvester Oromoni.
ii. Verbal abuse is also a form of bullying.
iii. Bullying can also be social and psychological.
And lastly, since we live in a cybernetic age, most bullies operate via social media.
Bullying can be done individually or in group. Bullying is common in schools, especially among teenagers in our lower schools.
It is said that on an average, one in every three children get bullied in schools. UNESCO also says that about 32 per cent of students of students get bullied in schools all around the globe. When the behaviour of bullies is not checked in school, when they are at the stage of growth, it continues . It continues at different stages of their lives and in turn affecting the lives of others on their path.
Bullying leaves the victim emotionally, psychologically and at times physically weak for a long time.
Remember, in that elite school you are sending your children to, are also children of kidnappers, bandits, armed robbers, drug barons, touts, fraudsters, and men and women whose second nature is domestic violence, and they can afford the fees.
To some parents, boarding Schools are training ground for future leaders. To others, it is a correctional center for badly raised children. Know this and be on guard always.
Institutions should not just be interested in profiteering. They should also ensure that moral sanctity prevails at all times among pupils and staff.
