Bullying is a Serious Problem

School and the teenage years are hard enough to handle without your child having to deal with a bully. My son came home one day and told me he’s continuously called hurtful names for not letting another student copy from his homework paper. It took quite a while before he told me about it and I just didn’t know how to respond. It was very hard for him to tell me because he was afraid of what would happen if the bully found out he had told someone. The term bullying doesn’t just refer to physical actions but also to verbal and emotional intimidation.

I found a lot of information about bullying at http://stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov. I found additional resources at http://www.kzoo.edu/psych/stop_bullying/resources/websites.html.

According to the Health Resources and Service Association (HRSA), Children and youth who are bullied are more likely than other children to:
· Be depressed, lonely, anxious;
· Have low self-esteem;
· Be absent from school;
· Feel sick; and
· Think about suicide.
My son has exhibited many of these symptoms and I didn’t realize that bullying could be part of the cause. I attributed it to his entering the ‘teenage’ years.

After my son told me about the bullying, the first thing I did (after giving him a hug) was discuss the problem with his teachers. They were not aware of the issue and had guidelines in place to deal with bullying. By identifying the problem we can now work together to see that it does not continue.

These are some tips I learned to help my son deal with bullying:

· Let him know that it’s not his fault.
· Ask him how he’s been dealing with the bullying and talk about what actions we can both take to solve the problem.
· Praise his strengths and creativity. My goal is to make my son feel more confident and boost his self image.
· Encourage my son to associate with some friendly kids in his class. This will give him a positive experience with other students.
· Ensure my son has a loving home where he can feel safe both physically and emotionally. I want him to know that he can talk to me about anything and everything.