Is Your Child Being Bullied?

Schools are starting back and our children and grandchildren are starting a new school year. How exciting!! Or is it?

Is your child being bullied?

According to Siri, bullying is the use of force, threat, or coercion to abuse, intimidate or aggressively dominate others. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perception, by the bully or by others, of an imbalance of social or physical power, which distinguishes bullying from conflict. Behavior used to assert such domination can include verbal harassment or threat, physical assault or coercion, and such acts may be directed repeatedly towards particular targets.

I recently learned some horrifying statistics. Did you know that Suicide is the #2 cause of death in school age children? And did you know that Being Bullied and the depression that goes with the territory is the #1 cause of suicide? We are talking about young elementary school age children here. This disturbs me terribly.

Today, I am writing to warn parents and grandparents to be on guard for your children's sake. Talk to them. Statistically less than half of bullied children will ask for help. Talk to them and be on the lookout for any symptoms of bullying. Protect your children!!

I'm no expert on this, but I have researched this topic. I want to share what I have found. Most children are afraid to even talk about it if they are being bullied. So, you can't just ask how their day was and expect that they will just open right up about any problems in this area. If you have serious suspicions, you need to help your child learn to talk to you about this. They need to feel safe. Also, keep in mind that not all bullying in schools is done by other children. Sometimes it can be someone in authority. For example, teachers, coaches, or other adults.

A bullied child sometimes shows no symptoms, but sometimes they do. Therefore, we need to do the best we can to be watchful.

Here are some symptoms and signs:

• Reluctance to go to school
• Crying spells or extreme emotional reactions that are out of character
• Injuries that are unexplained
• Missing or torn clothing or damaged property that has no explanation
• Frequent headaches or tummy aches
• Sleeping too much or too little. Frequent nightmares
• A sudden change in eating habits - weight gain or loss
  
• Verbalizes feelings of helplessness or hopelessness
• Talks about suicide
• Afraid or dislike of playing outside without an adult present
• Take special notice if your child is just starting a new school
• Notice if your child takes the victim stance. Walking with his head down and shoulders slumped or sitting in the 'hiding' position

Children are near and dear to my heart. I love them. I feel I was born to be a Bammie. This blog may seem strange to some of you, but if it helps just 1 child to be helped, then it is well worth any ridicule that I may have to endure.

Bullying is real and it is on the rise just as childhood suicide is real and on the rise. Please, God, help us to protect the children. We are their First Responders!!