It may be hard to wrap your mind around why someone would intentionally inflict harm on another person, let alone a child, but the reality is that this is happening every single day. In order to fully understand this situation, let’s dive into some statistics and facts about bullying that you may not have known before:

Did you know…
…that about 22% of students in grades 4-8 report academic difficulties as a result of peer abuse?
…that every day, 160,000 children in the U.S. stay home from school because of a fear of being bullied?
…that American schools house approximately 2.1 million bullies and 2.7 million victims?
…that 18% of children said they would join in if their friends were bullying someone?
…that children as young as nine start to think about suicide as a way to escape their bullies?

These facts may be jarring, but they are essential to know. You might be thinking, “What can we do to stop this?” The good news is that there are multiple ways to attack this problem at the source. Most anti-bullying campaigns take place in high school, which is often too late for the problem to be completely solved. Another way we can tackle the epidemic of bullying is to take preventative measures. This means teaching kids that are aged 5-9 about the effects of bullying and how important it is to treat others with respect. This ensures that kids grow up with strong morals and are less likely to engage in bullying, and are more likely to become vocal bystanders who stand up to bullying. These values can be taught through television shows, movies, and books that have characters who emulate empathy, kindness, and compassion.

Another statistic that you might not know is that more than 50% of the time, the bully will stop within 10 seconds if a bystander steps in to help the victim. Our goal is to raise this percentage and ensure that all kids have the mental tools needed to stand up to bullies and prevent detrimental bullying from occurring.