Signs your child is experiencing bullying at school and what to do

No parents would ever want their child to experience any bad things in life such as bullying. However, we cannot deny that mean people, regardless of their age, are just everywhere. It is the primary reason why parents must know how to protect their children from bullies, especially at school. 

Bullying is an unwanted behaviour among individuals, most common in children, that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. It also involves the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing or threat, and abuse. 

Many people believe that bullying can be repetitive misuse of power in relationships which has four kinds. It includes physical, verbal, social, and cyberbullying. 

Heartbreakingly, bullying seems to become just a "normal" part of a child's life while growing up. Many people take it to be something that is just one of an individual's common experiences. 

In contrast to this, experts hold on to their belief that bullying must never be tolerated. It is something that everyone should never consider a normal part of growing up.

Parents must play a big part in preventing bullying to ensure that their kids are safe and getting the right amount of support at home and even at school. 

Different signs that your child is going through bullying

It would be difficult for any parent to help their child overcome bullying if they do not know how to find signs. Knowing the signs will equip them to become more helpful parents to their children who are going through an unwanted situation of bullying. 

The signs of bullying can be emotional, behavioural, and physical. Aside from that, experts also consider other signs of bullying that may give parents a hint that their child is experiencing bullying.

Physical signs 

• Bruises, scratches, and cuts. 
• Frequently coming home with an empty stomach or hungry.
• Comes home missing or damaged belongings and clothes.

Emotional and behavioural signs

• Mood swings.
• Changes in sleeping and eating patterns.
• Becomes angry and tends to cry frequently.
• Having progressing aggressive behaviour and tends to become unreasonable.
• Avoiding talking about the problem or what is wrong.
• Feels ill in the morning.
• Starts venting out and targeting.
• Continually loses money, which could be the reason to start stealing.

Signs of bullying if your child is a student

There are signs of bullying the parents can notice, especially if their child is frequently coming to school and not in an online class set-up. Here are a few:

• Refuses to go to school.
• Starts getting failed grades in school.
• Refuses to ride school buses, trams, or trains where other students commonly ride.
• Avoid going on the same route as the other students when going to school.
• Frightened walking off to school.

Other signs of bullying

• A common target of teasing, mimicking, or ridicule at school.
• Does not have the guts or lacks the confidence to speak up in class and sometimes appears insecure or frightened.
• Often alone or excluded from friendship groups at school.

Things you should do if you suspect your child is being bullied

Bullying in school can negatively impact a child's life, and it could be short- or long-term. It could also adversely affect children's access to education, which could eventually lead to school avoidance, increase rates of absenteeism, and lower grades. 

Bullying may also result in depression, low self-esteem,  physical illnesses, and a lot more negative effects that could last a lifetime. It is something that adults must know and understand for them to know how they could protect children from any kind of bullying. 

Now that you know the signs of bullying, it could now be a bit easier for you to determine whether your child is being bullied. Once you find hints that feed your suspicion that your kid is experiencing such things, here's how you could handle it:

Have an open ear

It is common for parents to talk more than listen. However, when you noticed that your child is being bullied, they need an ear to listen than receive an earful. 

By calmly listening, you can encourage your child to tell you the whole story. Keep in mind that you mustn't interrupt them. What you need is to reassure them that they did the right thing by opening up to you about their situation. 

Talk in a conversational manner

What builds a better parent-child relationship in situations like this, is to have the capability to talk it out in a conversational manner. Talk about what happened without allowing emotions, anger, or distress to appear. 

It could also be the perfect time to remind your child that bullying is not okay and it will never be okay. You can also validate what your child is feeling by letting them know that being hurt, scared, sad, and angry is normal.

Know what’s happening

It is essential that you find out what is really happening: when and where the bullying happened, who the people involved are, how often, and if anybody were able to see it.

After knowing all these, you'll now be able to call the school to talk about it and help resolve the bullying in the school incidents. 

This article was first published in theAsianparent.