15/09/2026
Why do adults BULLY CHILDREN?
Adults can bully children for many of the same reasons adults bully other adults; control, insecurity, jealousy, displaced anger, or learned behavior, but the power imbalance makes it especially harmful.
Sometimes an adult can’t regulate their own emotions, so a child becomes the easiest person to blame or intimidate. In dysfunctional families, one child can even become the scapegoat: problems get projected onto that child, while criticizing or humiliating them becomes normalized. Other adults may join in, stay silent, or dismiss it because challenging the dominant adult would threaten the family dynamic.
Children are particularly vulnerable because they depend on adults for safety and initially assume adults are right. Repeated ridicule, threats, humiliation, exclusion, or making a child responsible for an adult’s emotions can therefore shape how that child sees themselves long after childhood.
Understanding the adult’s motives can explain the behavior, but it doesn’t excuse it. Adults are responsible for managing their emotions without using a child as their target.
