Bystanders play a huge role in the bullying dynamic, remember there’s a bullying child, there’s the target of bullying and then there’s the rest of the kids who watch.

Bystanders are so important because they see more bullying than any adults do. Kids who do bully, are not going to do bullying in front of teachers or in front of aids because they’re going to get caught. But they will do it in front of their peers because they’re looking from comradery for bullying behavior.

So bystanders have the biggest power group since 10% of kids do bullying behavior and 10% are targets, 80% have a big power group. The problem is that bystanders watch bullying and even if they know what to do, lots of times they wait for everyone else to step up.

Most bystanders are afraid to step up and do what’s right, but they are the solution if we can make it safe for them to report.

Written by DR Joel Haber, Bullying speaker, expert! and counsellor