Kids doing crafts at a daycare. Photo: Emmi Korhonen / Lehtikuva
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Daycare centres across Helsinki are rolling out a new citywide approach to address bullying in early childhood education, following survey results showing that bullying is already a concern among the youngest children.
According to the City of Helsinki, every daycare unit will follow a common plan this autumn aimed at identifying and responding to bullying behaviour in early stages. Staff will receive updated training and support materials to guide both internal practices and conversations with parents.
The initiative follows a joint survey in the Helsinki metropolitan area asking parents and guardians to report what their children disliked most about daycare. Fourteen percent of children identified bullying as their primary concern, with many also pointing to interpersonal conflicts with peers.
Children aged six to seven described bullying in simple terms during interviews at a Helsinki daycare centre:
“Bullying is when you hit someone. And it doesn’t feel nice, and then you have to tell an adult straight away.”
“Saying something nasty or doing something to another child.”
“Hurting someone.”
“Not being included in playing.”
“Something that makes someone else feel bad.”
Helsinki officials say early childhood educators play a key role in preventing bullying and must intervene early to prevent long-term harm. Research has linked bullying to negative impacts on mental health and social development, even at a young age.
The updated guidelines come amid broader national concern over bullying. The latest Child Barometer survey by the Ombudsman for Children found that one percent of pre-primary pupils reported being bullied regularly, while 56 percent said they had experienced bullying occasionally. Seventeen percent said they did not always have a friend at pre-primary school.
The findings are based on more than 400 telephone interviews conducted across Finland.
Last year, Finland saw its first restraining order issued in a school bullying case by a court in Päijät-Häme, highlighting growing awareness of the seriousness of bullying across all age groups.
The City of Helsinki says that daycare staff will now be expected to proactively create inclusive environments and address signs of exclusion or mistreatment early — before harmful patterns take hold.
HT
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Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
