Bullied Kids Are Dying - Something Has To Change

When your child comes home in tears — again — because of something cruel another child said or did, it’s heartbreaking.

And the first question many parents ask is: “Why would someone do that?”

We imagine bullies as mean or attention-seeking. But the truth is, children aren’t born cruel. They learn it. They mirror it. They use it, and it's often because they’re overwhelmed, hurting, or desperate to belong.

But here’s something even harder to admit: Sometimes, the child doing the harm… is ours. And we don't see it, not because we’re neglectful, but because bullying doesn’t always look like we think it should.

The Hidden Face of Bullying

Bullying isn’t always violent. Sometimes, it’s subtle:

• Excluding someone from a group chat.

• Imitating the way they speak.

• Laughing behind their back, then gaslighting them when they cry.

• Using silence as punishment and calling it a joke.

  
  

It’s the type of cruelty that often flies under the radar until the damage is already done.

As parents, we may not notice it. Why? Because the child doing it is still polite to teachers. Still helpful at home. Still performing well. But inside? They’re emotionally dysregulated, lacking tools to cope, and using others to offload their internal chaos.

Why Do Kids Bully?

1. They Learn It

Children absorb what they see. If they grow up in homes, online spaces, or school environments where dominance is rewarded, they may come to see cruelty as strength.

"Children model the behaviour they observe." – American Psychological Association

2. They’re Emotionally Struggling

They don’t have the tools to say, “I’m scared” or “I don’t feel good enough.” So instead, they try to make someone else feel small.

“Children with low self-esteem or emotional dysregulation often turn to bullying as a protective behaviour.” – Child Development, 2020

3. They Want Power or Belonging

In adolescence, bullying can be strategic — a performance to gain status or avoid being targeted themselves.

“Bullying is often a way for children to climb the social ladder in environments where exclusion is normalised.” — Developmental Psychology, 2014

4. They Haven’t Been Taught Another Way

Empathy. Emotional literacy. Self-regulation. These aren’t innate — they must be taught.

And Then There’s Social Media…

Bullying no longer stops at the school gate. The algorithms on social media rewards cruelty: more likes, more shares, more power. Children, some still in primary school, are thrust into a world where public humiliation is content and silence is complicity.

The platforms aren’t broken. They’re doing exactly what they’re designed to do: Fuel engagement through conflict.

So we must ask: Do our kids even understand the consequences of their actions anymore?Or worse… do they just not care?

And if that’s the case — then the problem is far deeper than just behaviour. It’s a crisis of conscience.

💔 A Personal Reflection

I have four children. One of them has complex additional needs. And even though high school is still a few years away, I already lie awake worrying.

Why? Because there is no school in our local area that feels safe enough for him.

He doesn’t fit neatly into a mainstream classroom, but he’s also not suited to a specialist setting. And if you think bullying is just a phase, let me show you what it really looks like.

Earlier this year, my stepdaughter came home in tears. Two days in a row.

Day One: She met a child in the sick bay who had been physically beaten by a group of three other students just because of the way he looked.

Day Two: She comforted another child who had been bashed because of the way he spoke.

She was shattered. But even more than that, she was terrified. She broke down, telling me what happened, and her final words in her story were

“… how would Harvey survive in high school?”

It broke me. Because she’s 13, and she’s already carrying the emotional burden of her brother’s safety. It’s not her job to protect him yet; she’s already trying to.

And me? I’m forced to ask, "How can I possibly send my vulnerable child into an environment where violence is normalised and children show no remorse?"

Do They Even Understand What They’re Doing?

Do these kids realise the long-term damage they cause?

Do they understand that:

• Bullying leads to school refusal, anxiety, and self-harm?

• Children as young as 9 have taken their own lives after relentless bullying?

• One moment of cruelty can shatter a child’s sense of worth forever?

  
  

Or have we created a generation so overstimulated, so emotionally numbed, so rewarded for ‘likes’, that they can no longer feel the weight of their actions?

And if that’s true… then the system has failed them too.

As Crazy As It Sounds...What If We Asked Different Questions?

Instead of: “How do we punish bullies?” .... What if we asked:

• What is this child feeling that they don’t know how to express?

• What have they not yet been taught?

• What systems — school, family, online — have failed to model empathy and boundaries?

  
  

Because children don’t become bullies in isolation. They become bullies when we forget to teach them how not to be.

What The GET Co. Is Doing About It

At The GET Co., we don’t just support the children who’ve been bullied —We support children before they become the bully.

Our 8-week yoga therapy and emotional regulation programs are:

• Delivered on-site during school hours

• Designed for small group intervention and whole-class prevention

• Grounded in evidence-based tools that help children feel safe, regulated, and seen

  
  

We help kids:

• Understand and manage big emotions

• Build empathy through movement and mindfulness

• Use body-based tools to self-soothe

• Develop a kind internal voice

• Reconnect with themselves — and others

  
  

We don’t shame. We don’t blame. We create safe spaces for regulation, reflection, and repair.

Backed by Research - Led with Heart.

A landmark meta-analysis published in Child Development (Durlak et al., 2011) found that students in social-emotional learning (SEL) programs showed a 22% improvement in academic outcomes and a significant reduction in aggression.

Studies in Journal of School Psychology and Mindfulness (2020) confirm that mindfulness and movement-based interventions improve emotional regulation, empathy, and connection, particularly in neurodivergent or behaviourally at-risk children.

Imagine If…

• Regulation was taught like reading.

• Social media rewarded kindness, not cruelty.

• Confidence came from connection, not control.

• Children knew how to feel, instead of forcing others to feel small.

  
  

That’s the future The GET Co. is working toward. One breath, one movement, one child at a time.