As parents, it’s important to recognize the warning signs of bullying. Bullying is more prevalent than most people realize, and your child may not always speak up when it’s happening. Knowing the following tell-tale signs of bullying enables you to act quickly, so your child doesn’t keep suffering.
Bullying At School Tends to Affect Grades
There are many signs of bullying at school, and it’s no secret that many warning signs of bullying are school-related. One major red flag of bullying is when your child’s grades take a hit. That’s because your child will find it hard to concentrate in class with a bully constantly at their heels.
The signs of bullying at school will also follow your child home, as they may fail to do their homework or keep up with their studies, which affects their grades in the long term.
Your Child May Start Skipping School and Related Activities
One of the signs of bullying at school is when your child starts skipping school and related activities. Some symptoms of bullying at school are easy to recognize, such as when your child gets upset over waking up and going to school.
Other times, signs of being bullied are not always obvious if your child is trying to hide it. They may pretend to attend classes while secretly skipping school. Also, if you look into their schedule, you may notice they’re no longer engaged in their favorite school activities. Talk to your child without being confrontational to find out why they no longer enjoy their school life.
Your Child May Change Their Eating and Bathroom Habits
When checking for signs your child is being bullied, watch out for any changes in their eating and bathroom behavior. For starters, one of the symptoms of bullying is if the victim prefers to do most of their business at home.
They will avoid bathrooms at school to avoid being a target, and they may also skip lunch only to binge-eat when they get home. The victim may also lose their appetite altogether in response to the emotional stress of being bullied.
Your Child May Frequently Feel Sick (Or Pretend To)
As mentioned, bullying at school may influence your child to dislike school and motivate them to skip classes. Therefore, one of the signs your child is being bullied includes using sickness as an excuse not to attend school. As far as signs of being bullied are concerned, it’s not uncommon for victims of bullying to complain about having a headache or a stomach ache regularly.
Even if they go to school, they might visit the nurse frequently in the hopes of getting sent back home. At times, bullying can actually affect your child’s health, so they will frequently complain about not feeling well. If any of these signs of bullying set off an alarm, trust your gut feeling and dig deeper to discover what’s happening in your child’s life.
Bullying Often Results in Physical Damage
Bullies like to inflict physical harm, so physical injuries are one of the top signs your child is being bullied. The majority of times, your child may struggle to explain the scrapes and bruises, and they could even try to cover the physical marks with clothing.
That’s why you should also pay attention if your child frequently gets their clothing torn or if their belongings are always getting damaged or coming up missing. These are all signs of being bullied, especially if they occur at the same time. Investigate the matter and encourage your child to open up if they seem reluctant to offer a plausible explanation.
Your Child May Have Trouble Sleeping
Symptoms of bullying can appear in every facet of your child’s life, including when they are asleep. Some victims of bullying experience nightmares, while younger children may even start bedwetting.
Whether your child is having trouble sleeping or sleeping more than usual, chances are they are not getting the quality of sleep they need if they are experiencing bullying. Therefore, the warning signs of bullying can extend to abnormal exhaustion, a worn-out appearance, difficulty concentrating, and general poor health due to lack of proper sleep.
Your Child’s Social Life May Suffer
It’s important that children have a balanced social life where they belong to a “group.” Bullies can ruin this by pushing their victims away from their usual social circles. This is one of the common signs of bullying at school. Therefore, you may notice that your child now hangs out alone when they used to be close to some of their friends.
This is more common among teen girls that tend to form cliques where thinly disguised bullying behavior is encouraged. If your child has become a target, their former friends will typically shun them and stop inviting them to social activities.
Your Child May Adopt Bullying Behavior
Bullying should never be condoned, but it can be sobering to realize that victims of bullying sometimes become bullies themselves. This happens as the child tries to gain control of their life. If the child doesn’t receive adequate support to cope with the effects of bullying, they will lash out with bullying behavior towards siblings and friends.
That’s why it’s important also to recognize warning signs that your child is a bully. Typically, bullies will start fights and become increasingly aggressive. They may also partner with other bullies and get into trouble more frequently.
You May Notice Significant and Worrying Changes in Your Child
Bullying can affect your child in many ways, and you may notice any of the following changes, which are a cause for concern:
- Loss of self-esteem. Prolonged bullying can eventually break down children’s defenses, resulting in low self-esteem. For instance, a victim may stop feeling confident enough to talk and engage with others. They may also start dressing differently or try to make themselves small by hunching their shoulders and keeping their head down to avoid drawing attention to themselves.
- Strange online behavior. Cyberbullying is also on the rise, and it means that bullying can now affect young children and teens everywhere they go through the use of electronic devices. Victims of cyberbullying may start to avoid going online or become obsessed with their devices. In any case, online attacks can be as damaging as physical bullying.
- Emotional outbursts. It’s not uncommon for children to have emotional outbursts, but if your child constantly fails to get a handle on their emotions, they may be a victim of bullying. Victims of bullying can get upset and teary-eared without explanation because of the stress they’re dealing with.
- Negative talk about school topics. Not all kids love school, but if your child expresses strong and negative feelings about school topics, this sentiment might be colored by the experience of being bullied. This is especially so if they once enjoyed a certain subject or school activity but no longer do.
- Self-harming. The effects of bullying tend to snowball from low-self esteem to getting depressed and engaging in self-destructive behavior or talk of suicide. This should always be taken seriously, and you should seek professional help immediately.
Notice Any of These Signs of Bullying in Your Child? Worldwide Pediatrics Can Help
Bullying in children is a major public health concern. Given the signs above, bullying can have a huge negative impact on your child’s health. At Worldwide Pediatrics, we are willing to do our part to help you recognize bullying and take the appropriate steps to manage its effects.
If necessary, our qualified and experienced staff will provide the medical care your child needs and also recommend other treatments to combat the effects of bullying. Request an appointment with us, and we will make sure your child gets the best possible care.
