What kinds of bullying are there?

There are three types of bullying behaviour – physical, verbal and social.

If any of these behaviours occur only once, or are part of a conflict between equals (no matter how inappropriate) they are not bullying.

Bullying is when these things happen (or have the potential to happen) again and again to someone.

Where does Bullying happen?

Bullying can happen in person or online. Online bullying is also called cyber-bullying. Bullying someone online can potentially have a very large audience. 

Children who are bullied online are often also bullied in person. This means that when dealing with online bullying, it’s important to look at other situations as well. 

Bullying can be easy to see, or hidden from those not directly involved. Easy to see bullying involves physical actions such as punching or kicking, or verbal actions such as name-calling and insulting. 

Hidden bullying can be very hard for others to see. It can include repeatedly using hand gestures and weird or threatening looks, whispering, excluding or turning one’s back on a person, restricting where a person can sit and who they can talk with. 

Sometimes hidden bullying can be denied by the initiator who will say they are joking or ‘just having fun’. Remember, bullying can sometimes happen between friends. Friendship loyalty and the confusion of an on-again-off-again friendship can make some children and young people reluctant to seek help.