But in truth, bullying has always had serious ramifications. I mean really listened, to a child who has been victimized by persistent bullying. For children who are constantly picked on, ridiculed, threatened, harassed, or robbed, school becomes torture. Bullying exacts a terrible toll on children. Their school work suffers, their physical and mental health suffers, and the scars can last a lifetime.
Bullying is also bad for the bullies because they never learn about consequences.
Sixty percent of the boys identified as bullies in middle school had one criminal conviction by age 24, according to psychologist Dan Olweus in his groundbreaking work, Bullying at School. Another revealing study, reported by Dorothea Ross, takes us inside the minds of the bullies. We do that all the time. We pick on the little guys. We don't leave them alone.