Bullying and violence in some schools have become persistent issues in Nigeria with its attendant consequences affecting the students’ well-being, academic performance, not forgetting their social and emotional health. Bullying is defined by Olweus D. Blackwell Publishing; 1993 as any deliberate and persistent act of aggressive behavior against an individual carried out by a single person or a group of people where the victim has difficulty defending themselves due to an imbalance of power.

Bullying is categorized into physical bullying, verbal bullying, emotional bullying, relational bullying (rumor spreading and social exclusion), and cyberbullying. Many efforts so far deployed in curbing this menace have focused on solving the problems within the classroom environment, but we soon realized that a significant but often overlooked factor lies outside school walls – the role of parents. Parent coaches being the quality control unit of the parenting institution, have a huge responsibility in offering a unique approach to tackling bullying by equipping parents with the knowledge, skills, and strategies needed to guide their children in developing healthy relationships, resilience and empathy through a collaborative effort between schools and homes. The job of parent coaches in this regard is to empower parents to actively engage in their children’s social and emotional development with the purpose of creating a more rounded and effective response to bullying. Every behavior emanates from our emotions and It all starts from home-the primary caregiver. This piece aims to explore the critical role of parent coaches as an agent of transformation in reducing bullying and violence in school environments across Nigeria. As a parenting and fatherhood development strategist, I am conversant with the classroom in either consulting capacity or as a guest speaker; this professional engagement has exposed me to myriads of cases of bullying and other vices in the school environment. Imagine if one out of every four students in Nigerian schools experienced bullying, this hypothetical statistic represents a substantial percentage of our student population facing their shares of hostility and psychological stress every day.

When classrooms have multiple students who are either bullied or susceptible to bully, what else for our precious children to experience than the broader negative effects on mental health, academic performance, and their social wellbeing. A few conversations our faculty engages with some schools when called upon to intervene reveal that bullying makes students across class consistently exposed to fear, anxiety, and social isolation within an environment meant for learning. What about the effect of this on the overall school climate? The school environment can be compromised and this will lead to breaking of law and order. Schools as an agent of socialization for social development for students must be protected by every stakeholder, it is a grooming citadel for learning and growth but where such an environment for grooming isn’t safe what hope do, we have for the students who are taking up the mantle of leadership from the retiring senior citizens? On a societal level, the psychological impacts of bullying can persist into adulthood and can significantly affect the leadership quality of who we have at the helm of affairs across spheres of influence. This is evidently seen in selfesteem and interpersonal relationships skills at adulthood. Bullying stands as one of the most common forms of youth violence and can often serve as an access to more severe anti-social behaviors. While I acknowledge that not all students actively participate in bullying, but the passive actions or inactions of bystanders is dangerous and can create an enabling environment for bullying to take root and persist. This trend I have seen in schools where bullying is not so pronounced because of the silence of many students, such action has inadvertently contributed to the vicious cycle of bullying by their palpable silence. They either observe without intervening, or subtly reinforcing the bully’s actions. This passive support can implicitly validate the behavior, making it easier for the bullying to continue unchallenged. Bullying in schools can also arise from perceived differences, whether they’re based on race, sexuality, religion, physical abilities or disabilities, body size, appearance, or any unique trait. These differences at times can lead to exclusion, teasing, or worse, as students with certain characteristics might be unfairly targeted by peers who may want to see them as “outsiders” This is why addressing bullying requires a comprehensive and inclusive approach that will address it from the root cause analysis and not just the surface. I will conclude this piece next week in my submission on the interventions parent coaches can deploy outside the classroom to prevent bullying in our schools.

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