Child bullying fierce, "24 hours a day": report

The way in which kids bully each other is getting fiercer, De Kindertelefoon (Childline) concludes from 450 thousand contacts they annually have with children, parents and teachers. In 2014 more than 18 thousand children between the ages of 8 and 18 years called De Kindertelefoon about bullying. Employees of the telephone helpline for children also had more than 5 thousand chat conversations on the subject. The term bullying was searched for 7 thousand times in their database. Compared to other years, these figures did not increase much, but according to Nathalie But of De Kindertelefoon, the nature of the reports has changed significantly in the 35 years that the organization has existed. "Earlier chldren called us because they were insulted in the schoolyard or that they were not allowed to pay along at recess. Nowadays children are added by other children in a Whatsapp group where the most horrible insults are hurled at them. The bullied children can leave the group, but are then added again or added by another person. The bullying does not stop at the schoolyard anymore, but continues 24 hours a day." said But. To raise more awareness of the consequences bullying and harassment can bring, De Kindertelefoon along with Cartoon Network and the youth newspaper KidsWeek has started a platform against bullying - Buddy Network with the motto "Be a buddy, not a bully". Bullies, bullied children, parents and teachers can visit the website for information and movies on the subject.