If your child is being bullied, he or she may try to hide it from you. Therefore, you will have to know what to look for. Children often show early warning signs of bullying and, if you know what to look for, you can help before things get out of hand.
First, you need to watch for unexplained physical injuries such as black eyes, cuts, scrapes and bruises that are not related to sports or regular play activities.
Second, pay attention if your child suddenly doesn’t want to go to school or some other place he usually likes going to.
Third, watch for changes in appetite or sleep habits. Any changes may be stress-related, and being the victim of a bully is very stressful for anyone, especially a child.
Fourth, broken or missing possessions. often bullies will steal from their victims or break the possessions of the child they are bullying.
Fifth, bed wetting. If your child starts wetting the bed, that can be a stress reaction to what is happening to him/her when they are being bullied.
Sixth, your child suddenly begins to do poorly in school.
There could be other reasons for these symptoms, so try to avoid jumping to conclusions. Ask yourself the following questions:
Are more then one of these signs there? Have there been any other changes in the childs life such as parents’ divorce or death of a close family member or friend?
If you suspect that bullying is occurring, there are some things you can do to stop the problem.
If it is happening at school, talk to his/her teacher or the principle and try to work with the school on tackling the problem.
If you know who is bullying your child try to contact the parents. They are probably not aware of their child’s behavior.
Last , if you don’t receive satisfactory results from the above suggestions, you may want to get the police involved if there have been physical attacks on your child.
Remember that your child will need your support if they have been victimized by a bully. Some of the things you can do to help are as follows.
a. Tell your child that bullying is not acceptable and that you will do what you can to get the bullying to stop.
b. Do not accept that repeated verbal abuse is teasing and not bullying. That’s how bullying starts.
c. Children and teens who hang out in groups of 2 or more tend not to be picked on by bullies. Encourage friendships by allowing your child to invite friends over to the house or to participate in supervised activities.
d. In extreme cases, a child needs to move to a different school to get a fresh start. You may find that a move is neccessary for the emotional health of your child.
