Along with Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, Fantastic Sams, and The Mall at Robinson, King Orthodontics is helping to sponsor the 100.7 Star Shine A Light on Bullying program. This program helps kids and teens learn how to notice and deal with the serious problem of school bullying.
What Is Bullying?
Bullying has many forms. It can include threatening kids, attacking someone either verbally or physically, purposely excluding a child or children from a group, and making fun of others, or talking about others in a way that will hurt their feelings.
- According to a recent bullying study, 50 percent of students in Pennsylvania said that other students tell lies or spread false rumors to hurt other kids. More than 40 percent have been teased or called names, 33 percent have purposefully been left out of groups or activities, and 16 percent have been kicked, pushed, or hit.
- Easy access to the Internet has also brought about cyberbullying, with 12 percent of students saying that they’ve been victims of cell phone or Internet campaigns that make threats against students.
How Does Bullying Harm Kids?
Bullying is destructive. It can cause many problems for those who are bullied—both physically and mentally. It can:
- Make school seem like an unsafe place to be. If your child is distracted in school because they’ve been harmed verbally or physically, they won’t be able to concentrate on their studies and may start to fall behind. They may also be tardy, miss school on purpose, or even drop out.
- Cause health issues, especially stomach and anxiety problems.
- Ostracize children to the point where they don’t want to talk to anybody or be a part of any group. Bullying can make social, happy children into outsiders who avoid any contact with other kids.
- Make kids sad, lonely, anxious, and depressed.
The Allegheny County Bara Association has produced a children’s book called “That Is No Joke!” This book teaches kids what the difference is between making a good joke and a bad joke that can hurt someone. It talks about why making fun or others is wrong, and why our differences should be celebrated. It’s available as a free download at http://www.acba.org/Public/No-Joke-Program/No-Joke-Kids-Book.asp.
King Orthodontics is proud to be a sponsor of the 100.7 Star Shine A Light on Bullying program. Ask one of the staff members about it the next time you’re in the office!
Dr. Bryan King earned his DMD from The University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine and holds his Master of Dental Science in Periodontics from The University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine. Dr. Bryan has also completed an Orthodontic residency at St Barnabas Hospital in The Bronx, New York. Dr Bryan has received many honors as a practicing orthodontist including, being named a Diplomate of the American Board ofOrthodontics and being named a “Top Dentist” by Pittsburgh Magazine for several years running. He also earned the Lifetime achievement award given by Align Technologies in 2014 for his work with Invisalign.
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