Bullying
– Part 2 – Warning signs that your child might get bullied
Written by:
Yolandi Singleton
October
2019
It is always unpleasant to think about the
possibility that your child might get bullied. It is an unfortunate reality
that many kids are confronted with, especially having to face embarrassment
when the bullying gets broadcasted on social media these days.
Children who get bullied often suffer severe
emotional trauma especially when they feel lonely and perceiving that they can not
tell anyone about it – therefore facing the issue on their own. A positive
relationship with your child, including honest and open communication with them
is therefore of cardinal importance so that they will be assured of your
commitment and dedication towards them. I can not overemphasize the
significance of your consistency in this regard. Believe it or not, when your child really
feels cared for and nurtured and perceives their parent to be entirely available to
them at any time, they are much less likely to get bullied.
In the same breath, we can never predict
children’s behavior. Your child might get bullied for various reasons, but it
is mostly due to the person who bullies being jealous of the child who they
bully or recognizing low self-esteem and therefore an easy target to control.
In other words, children with good self-esteem are less likely to get
bullied. Some children who bully other children are often bullied themselves or
witness violent behavior in their homes or in the communities they are from and
therefore normalize such behavior, especially if they are not guided by their
families about socially appropriate behavior or effective conflict resolution.
Before I start listing some signs to look out
for that indicates that a child might get bullied, it is important to bear in
mind that some children never show any signs. Therefore, once again, it is
important to ensure and commit to maintaining an open relationship with your
child. If it means that you need to apologize to your child for often being unavailable
to them in the past, do it. Do whatever you can to restore the communication so
that your child will open up to you when they need you, such as when getting
bullied.
The following signs are common indicators that
a child possibly gets bullied or at risk to get bullied (remember that some of
these signs could also indicate something else might be wrong):
- Having injuries, but refuse to talk about them or even lie about it
- Having dirty and torn clothes and also refuse to discuss it
- Having regular excuses not wanting to go to school – even fake illnesses
- Psychosomatic symptoms such as nausea, headaches or stomach aches
- Complain about not having friends and sitting alone during break time
- Express feeling afraid to walk alone around on the school grounds
- Showing unexplained aggressive behavior towards family members or other children smaller than them
- Sudden change in mood and behavior – showing more emotional vulnerability
- Isolating themselves on a regular basis
- Withdrawing from activities they used to like
- Often feeling tired – which could mean that the child struggles to sleep or get nightmares
- Express suicide thoughts, especially if some of the abovementioned signs are also present (remember that bullying alone will not cause children wanting to commit suicide, but rather in conjunction with other social or emotional challenges. Children who are from difficult home circumstances, including parental fights, domestic violence, dealing with a significant loss, lack of parental support, feeling lonely or being abused or neglected and then also getting bullied are much more likely to develop feelings of depression and suicidal thoughts.
In my next article, I will cover some steps you
can take when being confronted with a child getting bullied…
Be aware… until next time.
No comments:
Post a Comment