About 40 per cent of nine-year-olds have been bullied in the past year, new research revealed today.
Despite the high number of children who reported being victimised, less than a quarter of mothers were aware of the problem.
The Growing Up In Ireland survey, which tracked the lives of 8,500 nine-year-olds, also discovered one in four was overweight or obese.
But the vast majority of children were reported by their mother to be in good health.
Minister for Children Barry Andrews said the high percentage of children reporting bullying was a cause for concern.
While most of those surveyed found the abuse took traditional forms such as verbal slurs and exclusion, Mr Andrews warned about technology being used in cases of bullying.
“Mobile phones and text bullying separate the bullier from the bullied and seeing the consequences,” said Mr Andrews.
“The nature of it makes it a little more insidious and worthy of attention,” he added.
The Government-funded study is the first in a series of 20 research reports tracing the development of the nine-year-olds along with a group of 11,000 nine-month-olds over the next three years.
Report co-director Prof Sheila Greene said gender stereotypes and differences were still strong in some areas.
“Nine-year-old girls are more likely to like school, to like their teachers and be doing well and that’s very good for girls,” she said.
“But there’s a certain amount of concern about boys, many as young as nine turning off in relation to their engagement with school.
“Girls are doing more of the traditional housework than boys. Taking out the bins is about the only thing the boys do more of,” she added.
The research is being led by the Economic and Social Research Institute and Trinity College Dublin.