Parents report bullying

Teachers, administrators and other adults are often very defensive when an upset parent approaches them about the problem.

Unable to view the situation from an objective perspective, school authorities may require testimonies by witnesses and the names of the children involved.

These same authorities may also have a policy of revealing the name of the child reporting incidents to the accused party. In this situation, retaliation against the reporter is almost guaranteed.

Another important point is that school authorities may believe that bullies come from abusive homes. Traditionally they are reluctant to speak to the parents of known bullies for fear that the child will in turn be abused at home (Papazian, 2000).

Talkington, and Hill (1993) observed that parents have been generally unsuccessful in attempts to advocate for their children in the bully-victim issue due in large part to the disabling negative psychological effects that accompany this situation.

In addition to grief over what their child has lost, and guilt about not being able to fix it or making the situation worse, parents may suffer from psychological, social and political consequences such as feelings of powerlessness and isolation (Solomon, Pistrang, & Barker, 2001).

Another factor contributing to failure is lack of information. Parents don't know where to turn for help when the school fails them.