Bullying Awareness

Bullying is a complex problem that affects nearly all of us at some point in our lives. There are many forms of bullying, but essentially it is aggressive behaviour used from a position of power. We think of bullying as a relationship problem, because it involves disrespectful and hurtful interactions, in which a person with greater power uses aggressive words or actions to distress a person with less power. Research indicates that there are many situational factors that contribute to bullying among children.  Systemic factors include organizational or school polices, social climate, and level of adult awareness and willingness to address bullying.  In addition, bullying unfolds in front of the peer group, and children who bully receive peer attention and often gain social status through their bullying behaviour. As well, the unique characteristics of the child who is bullying and the child who is victimized come in to play in this complex social interaction.

"At blueballoon, we understand that the best way to prevent bullying is to foster the development of healthy relationship skills in the children we serve, from communication skills to understanding the rights of others.  In addition to my clinical work at blueballoon, I serve as the Partnership Director of PREVNet, a national bullying prevention researcher – NGO network.  The resources we have gathered for you on this site represent a sample of available resources from www.prevnet.ca and I urge you to check out the site for more information. Another blueballoon psychologist, Dr. Rona Atlas, conducted her doctoral research on bullying in the classroom.  Dr. Atlas and I have worked together doing bullying prevention consultations for schools and summer camps throughout Ontario since the mid 1990’s.  The blueballoon Psychology Team is uniquely qualified to offer support to parents struggling with a bullying problem, whether their child is bullying others, being victimized by bullying, or is dually involved.  We take a strongly social-ecological perspective to intervention, meaning that we address the systemic and peer group factors through collaborating with key players at the child’s school.  We educate parents to enable them to effectively advocate for their child in the school system, and provide individual counselling and coaching to enhance healthy social skills for the child."

Dr. Joanne Cummings
Clinical Director, Psychology 

We are pleased to provide information about bullying prevention on this site, and encourage parents to explore our resources and links, and reach out to us if they require more information or individualized support.

Learn more about Enhancing Social Skills with Peers.