Does Beijing’s ‘boot camp’ for school bullies work? A mum whose own son was bullied isn’t so sure
Bullies can often be victims of bullying themselves, Hong Kong mum Anthea Rowan learns from a therapist. She looks at how families and schools can help prevent such antisocial behaviour
Bullies in Beijing risk being sentenced to hard labour in a bid to teach them to understand the error of their ways, it has been reported. I wonder how useful this is; will it really make a difference?
The “sentences” aren’t about lashings, gruel and solitary confinement, rather a rigorous introduction to community service, some military-school authority and a little psychological insight into the negative impact of their actions. In other words: lessons in empathy and a spot of discipline.
My son was so badly bullied at his prep school that we had to remove him. At the time I’d gladly have sentenced the little culprits to hard labour (the lashings, gruel and solitary confinement variety). But, with the passing of years, I looked upon his tormentors with less vitriol and even a little compassion, and sought to understand their cruelty: I discovered that one was struggling to cope with a mother’s drug addiction and the other his parents’ acrimonious divorce.
“At the family level, involvement in bullying can be related to a lack of positive adult role models; limited adult supervision; witnessing family aggression and family conflict,” she says.
Parents must look to their own behaviours. Children learn from those around them
I have to agree that a parent with a heroin habit and a couple who never stopped fighting probably constituted “limited adult supervision and family aggression”.
