Bullying
Simply put, bullying is a pattern of unwelcome or aggressive behaviour, often with the goal of making others uncomfortable, scared or hurt. It’s almost always used as a way of having control or power over their target, and it is often based on another person’s appearance, culture, race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity.
All incidents of bullying are serious and need to be addressed. As you’ll discover in this section, the impact bullying has on the victim and the bully is very serious.
Types of Bullying
- Physical – Includes hitting, kicking, tripping, punching and pushing or damaging property.
- Verbal – Includes name-calling, insults, teasing, intimidation homophobic or racist remarks or verbal abuse.
- Social & Emotional – Includes behavioural actions designed to harm a child’s reputation or cause humiliation, like lying and spreading rumours, negative facial gestures, playing mean jokes to embarrass or humiliate a child, mimicking the child in a mean way, encouraging social exclusion of a child, etc.
- Cyber- includes taunting or humiliation through social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) or the internet, cruel websites targeting specific youth, humiliating others while playing online games, verbal or emotional bullying through chat rooms, instant message or texting, posting photos of other youth on rating websites, etc.
Mental Wellness
Mental well-being is a big part of everyday life. If you’re experiencing sadness, depression, changes in mood, fear, changes in perception, obsession, or anxiety on a daily basis you are encouraged to take advantage of the free resources available to you. The best way to prevent mental health challenges from getting worse is to recognize symptoms as soon as possible and seek professional help.
The New Westminster Police Department is committed to the mental well being of our youth. Please call or contact the Mental Health Unit for assistance and referrals: shagen@nwpolice.org [1], awlodyka@nwpolice.org [2]
For Youth
[3]
Dealing With Depression (online resource) [4]
[5]
For Parents
[6]
[7]
For Educators
[8]
Ants to Pants (mental health resource on automatic negative thoughts) [8]
Internet Safety
The internet has drastically changes the way that youth interact with the world. They have access to in-depth knowledge, tools to express their creativity, and they have the ability to contact people from all over the world. And while this is a fascinating and full of possibilities, youth online must also navigate risks:
- Cyber bullying
- Exposure to inappropriate material
- Online predators
- Youth revealing too much personal information
Helpful documents and resources are available for guardians are available below:
Social Media Checklist for Parents by Safer Schools Together [9]
Sexting Safety Agreement by J. Hengstler (2016) [10]
Family Cell Phone & Technology Use Contract by Carrie Goldman [11]
Family Media Agreement K-5 by commonsense.org (2013) [12]
If you feel that your privacy has been compromised or you are a victim of cyber bullying, please contact us at 604-525-5411.