Fight to Stop Bullying

According to a recent study noted on bullyingstatistics.org, about one in every ten student’s drops out or changes schools as a result of repeated bullying. Suicide is one of the leading causes of death of children under age 14. More than half these cases are a result of bullying. We’ve all experienced bullying in some shape or form. Either we’ve been the bullies, the victims, or an onlooker who did nothing. So why is more not being done? And what can we do as parents to help prevent and deal with this extremely important issue?

Let’s start with children who are victims of bullying. As stated on stopbullying.gov: Lack of self-esteem, depression, difficulty forming healthy relationships, and suicide are all effects bullying has on a child. With such extreme “symptoms” you might think you’d notice immediately if your child becomes the victim, but this is not always true. Majority of children won’t even bring up the issue of bullying to an adult or parent. Many children want to impress the parents or are embarrassed by the fact they are unpopular or made fun of at school. Here are some signs you should look for: Unexplainable bruising or injuries. This could be a result to physical bullying. Items missing the child doesn’t mention: such as a lunch box or favorite jacket. They may have been taken and are too scared to tell you they let it happen. They may continually make excuses to avoid school. Or seem to have a fear of going. The last sign I would look for is a lack of friends or social life. Most children have a thriving social life while in school. If your child seems to avoid making friends or communicating with others, they may have issues of bullies excluding them and making fun of them to make them feel that people who hang o...

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... Retrieved October 6, 2013, from http://www.bullyingstatistics.org/content/bullying-statistics-2010.html

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