Children as young as three are being bullied at Victorian kindergartens and teachers are not doing enough to stop it, a report has found.

Up to four children in each kinder class of 20-25 children may be affected by bullying, Deakin University researchers Gary Humphrey and Beth Crisp said.

They dismiss the widely held view that three and four-year-olds are too young to deliberately bully others.

In a paper published in the recent edition of the Australian Journal of Early Childhood, they say preschool bullying has been dismissed as a “developmental stage involving rough play and squabbling, which they will grow out of”.

But Mr Humphrey and Dr Crisp warn it means not enough is done to help affected kids.

“By denying the potential for bullying to take place between children of kindergarten age, some authorities have determined that systematic intervention to prevent or stop bullying at preschools is therefore unnecessary,” they said.

Their research suggests victimisation by very young children is similar to that of older children and there is no evidence to suggest young children are more resilient when bullied.

Mr Humphrey and Dr Crisp interviewed four parents of children who had been bullied at kinder.

They said their children were “scared and lacking in self-esteem as a result of having been subjected to constant teasing, name-calling or rejection by other children”.

They found some teachers actively denied the bullying and were hesitant to use the term.

A number of kinder teachers contacted by the Herald Sun were reluctant to use the word to describe harmful behaviour between three to five-year-olds.

And they strongly disagreed teachers didn’t do enough to protect children.

Kindergarten Parents Victoria chief executive officer Meredith Carter said aggressive behaviour was a feature of early childhood.

Ms Carter said all preschools are required to have behaviour management policies that stress the need to give children a safe, secure environment.

Source: NEWS.com.au, Australia
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23547589-421,00.html