- Bully Vaccine Toolkit Lesson 1 – Operant Conditioning Primer
- Bully Vaccine Toolkit Lesson 2 – Real Life Examples
- Bully Vaccine Toolkit Lesson 3 – Documenting Bullying
- Bully Vaccine Toolkit Lesson 4 – Why Bullies Bully
- Bully Vaccine Toolkit Lesson 5 – Developing an Action Plan
- Bully Vaccine Toolkit Lesson 6 – Parent’s Responsibility
- Bully Vaccine Toolkit Lesson 7 – Getting Help
- Toolkit Extras
- Toolkit Downloads
Documenting Bullying
The purpose of this lesson is to help you define better what is happening, when it is happening and why it is happening so that you can create an effective comprehensive plan to deal with it and most importantly, get the bullying to stop.
Bullying is a pattern of harassment. If you can identify the pattern of when it is happening, You can devise a strategy to deal with the bullying.
This lesson includes downloads that include a bullying workbook, a documentation log and more.
Getting Started:
Download the following files:
The workbook covers the topics of the next 4 lessons. For now, we are focusing on the section titled: Bullying Log. Feel free to print out as many copies of the documentation log as you need.
Why you need to document bullying thoroughly
In order to come up with a plan on how to proceed, you need to log all incidents of bullying to identify when and where and how you are being bullied. If you are experiencing a chronic bullying situation, you will want to keep a log for at least a week to make sure the various ways you are bullied are covered.
Once you have filled out the log, review it. Are there any repeating patterns when you are most vulnerable? I spoke to a reporter once who told that when she was in high school, some boys would tease her when she got on the bus. To avoid this, she made sure she stuff was packed and ready to go before the final period so she could get on the bus before the bullies did. After about a month, they stopped because she wasn’t available for them to hassle anymore.
If your bullies don’t have access to you, they can’t bully you. If you can identify times and places where bullying occurs, you can often arrange your schedule to avoid those places at those times. For instance, if you get bullied in between classes in a certain hallway, is there another route you can take. It may take you longer to get to your next
class, but you will avoid your bullies and prevent them from having access to you.
If you are consistently bullied during recess, can you ask a teacher or staff member to be present to closely monitor you so that the bullies, again, won’t have access to you. If you can identify places and times you are most vulnerable, you can create a strategy for those
specific situations to keep yourself safe.
If your bullies change their patterns in order to gain continued access to you, create a new
strategy to compensate for their change in behavior. If your bullies are really addicted to bullying you, they may get creative. Just remember to adjust your strategy as they adjust theirs.
Check out this video on changing tactics for more insight
Other Uses of a Bullying Log
The other main benefit of maintaining a bullying log is that by documenting each and every incidence of bullying you can provide the adults and school administrators with a clearer picture of exactly what is happening to the victim.
It is very easy for adults and people in charge to dismiss concerns about bullying. It is much harder for them to dismiss a well documented pattern of abusive behavior, which is how bullying often manifests.
The other reasons why a log is helpful is because IF the bullying requires legal intervention you will need these logs as evidence.
Filling out the Documentation Log
The documentation log is fairly straight forward. You want to note the following information:
- Date (be sure to include the day, month and year)
- Time
- Who the bullies were
- What exactly happened (the victim was punched, teased, tripped, had something stolen, was excluded, etc).
- Where it happened
- Who witnessed it (so that they can be called on to corroborate what happened. You will be surprised at how willing bystanders are to speak up once they are asked. Many stay silent out of fear and are relieved when it appears constructive action is being taken to make the bullying stop.)
- Any other notes that you feel are important
Questions and Feedback
If you have any questions or thoughts or need clarification on anything, please be sure to share them in the comment section below.
Also, if this has helped you, please share that as well. It will give courage to other parents and their children who are just starting on this journey.
I promise I will answer and respond to every comment and the feedback will help everyone who participates in this program. We are in this together. Learn, share and pass this information on.
Coming up Next
Why Bullies Bully. Taking the time to think about the reasons why a bully is behaving poorly. Considering a bully as a flawed human helps to take away the fear of them. This helps children find the courage to confront them compassionately and ethically.