Coping with the bullies 'is part of growing up', says child expert

Minor playground spats are blown out of proportion and branded 'bullying', an expert has claimed.

Youngsters must learn to cope with teasing and name-calling so they are able to handle awkward situations as adults, former Government adviser Tim Gill says.

He believes the extent of bullying is being exaggerated by over-protective parents and teachers, who apply the label to childhood squabbles which were previously assumed to be part of growing up.

The claims, in a book published today, are certain to fuel concerns over the escalation of the bullying 'industry'.

Police officers warned this year that a target-chasing culture is forcing them to make 'easy' arrests for offences such as bullying.

In one example, a child in Kent was arrested for throwing a slice of cucumber from a tuna sandwich at a classmate.

The latest Government guidance to schools urges heads to record all instances of bullying and report the findings to their local council.

But Mr Gill, who led the first Government-backed review of children's play areas in 2003, warns against mollycoddling children by describing everyday teasing as bullying.

He claims it is part of a trend to 'bubblewrap' children, meaning they do not develop the resilience needed to deal with adult life.

Parents, teachers, police and officialdom are all to blame for over-reacting to risks such as injury, abduction and abuse, he says.

'I have spoken to teachers and educational psychologists who say that parents and children are labelling as bullying what are actually minor fallings-out,' said Mr Gill.

'Children are not always nice to each other, but people are not always nice to each other. The world is not like that.'

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Mr Gill said his daughter had complained she was being bullied after three boys teased her about a game she was playing in the park.

'What struck me was the use of the word bullying to describe that,' he added.

'Bullying is where the victimisation is sustained and there is a power imbalance.

'I do not mean we should allow unbridled cruelty, just that one option is asking, "Can you sort it out yourself?"

'A few years ago, interactions that would have just been seen as children being children are now treated as something much more sinister and troublesome that we have to stop.'

He said that in one school a child's decision not to be another pupil's friend was recorded as an incident of bullying.

'It's a little bit like the health and safety culture,' he added.

'Teachers are in danger of feeling they can't take a commonsense approach.

'We are running the risk of children growing up who are not going to be able to look after themselves in social situations.'

Mr Gill also warned that children's play with their friends was being too closely supervised by teachers.

He said that with fewer children playing in parks or in the street, the schoolyard is often only place they can enjoy being outdoors.

His book, No Fear: Growing Up in a Risk-Averse Society, warns children are being branded antisocial for innocuous activities such as street football, playing hopscotch or climbing trees.

'This is being labelled as antisocial behaviour and police or neighbourhood wardens are clamping down,' he said. 'For me, this is an identical issue.'

Mr Gill, who was director of the Children's Play Council for seven years, is advising the Conservatives as they conduct an inquiry into the state of childhood.

• Ofsted inspections are giving children the impression that bullying is widespread in adult life - and that presentation is more important than substance, according to an academic.

Professor Cedric Cullingford, of Huddersfield University, said: 'Teachers are seen to become highly stressed and fearful of the inspectors and from this many pupils perceive inspections as a form of bullying.

'The message portrayed, and taken on by many of the youngsters, is that it's not what you do that counts, but the way you present yourself. Children are learning about spin from an early age.'