Bullying can be described as purposeful and intended aggressive actions that make victims uncomfortable or cause harm to the victims (Nurlia & Suardiman, 2020, p. 7). Causes of bullying can be grouped into three; individual, social, and family causes. Individual causes may be a result of feelings of weakness and inadequacy. Social factors relate to the way bullies view interactions with other people, while family causes focus on interactions and power dynamics at home. In many cases, bullying in children develops from early experiences of violent and aggressive behavior (Nurlia & Suardiman, 2020, p. 8). Children who grow up in violent and aggressive surroundings are likely to adopt similar behaviors (Nurlia & Suardiman, 2020, p. 8). Thus, contributing factors to bullying are family violence and media content that encourages victimization. Parents whose children are constantly bullied should engage the school first to discuss the issue and come up with solutions. Parents should offer emotional support to their children and offer assurances that bullying is not their fault.
Parental monitoring is effective since it prevents children from being involved in risky behaviors. Supervising the children is important because it places boundaries and limits extreme actions by children. Parents are capable of preventing their adolescents from engaging in illegal behaviors by knowing the activities of the individual during the day. Successful parental monitoring involves the use of honest and frequent communication (Rusby et al., 2018, p. 313). When adolescents are not supervised enough, they are likely to engage in illegal behaviors such as drug abuse and criminal activities. Due to peer influence, early adolescents affect each other’s behaviors which makes them vulnerable to criminal behavior (Rusby et al., 2018, p. 313). When adolescents ate monitored closely, they are likely to develop aggressive traits and may limit contact with parents. The loss of privacy will create conflicts that may affect the relationships between the child and the parent.
Reference
Rusby, J. C., Light, J. M., Crowley, R., & Westling, E. (2018). Influence of parent–youth relationship, parental monitoring, and parent substance use on adolescent substance use onset. Journal of Family Psychology, 32(3), 310–320. Web.