Why Do Sports Kids Bully?
Judging from the many emails and comments we’ve received from sports parents and coaches lately, bullying is an important topic to you. It should be.
Bullying is rampant in sports–and kids don’t like to talk about it.
Whether you’re sports parents concerned about how your kids are treated in sports, or coaches who want what’s best for your young athletes, you need to watch our new video below.
Today, we’re sharing an interview with Carl Pickhardt, Ph.D., a psychologist with 25 years experience and the author of, “Why Good Kids Act Cruel.”
In this interview—conducted by Lisa Cohn—Dr. Pickhardt explains why kids bully and what issues make bullying worse.
During the interview, Dr. Pickhardt reveals:
- The five most typical bullying behaviors.
- The developmental issues that cause kids to treat each other badly—even when they’re good kids.
- What kids are looking for when they try to hurt each other.
- When and how bullying behavior improves.
- The critical role of coaches in either preventing or exacerbating bullying in sports.
Watch the video below based on Lisa’s interview with Dr. Pickhardt about why sports kids bully.
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Related Articles on Youth Sports:
- Helping Low-Income Kids With Bullying in Sports
- How To Deal With Teammates That Bully
- Can You Spot the Signs of Bullying in Sports?
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Your information is very good and I read and listen regularly. My son has been a swimmer for 10 years and is in has last year of swimming with a swim club before entering the University circuit. I can tell you that Harassment, Intimidation and bullying (HIB) are rampant in swimming in Manitoba. What’s worse is that in 10 years, I only found 2 coaches that were against bullying. The rest felt it was a good motivator as kids tried harder if they feared being bullied for failure.
My son was seriously bullied last year with one boy threatening him with a knife. The result, my son had to switch swim clubs and lost a good coach and his friends, while the bullies were allowed to stay with the club and continue enjoying the familiar surroundings. It is my belief at this time that reporting HIB will only make things much worse for the victim.