This is a contributed post on bullying.
As a parent, one of the things you worry about the most is when you suspect your children might be getting bullied. In some ways, technology has magnified this problem a lot. For example, bullies can often taunt their victims via text messages and social media.
When you send your kids to school, you hope that they have a fun and pleasant experience. The sad truth is that, for many youngsters, going to school is like getting sent to hell each day.
I am writing this blog post because I was getting worried this problem was one that I would have to handle. Today I am going to give you an insight into my experience of bullying from a mom’s perspective.
I was angry
When I first suspected that my kids were getting bullied at school, I became an angry person. I wasn’t angry at my children; I felt upset for them.
No, I was furious at the thought that some people could be hurting my kids. And I was angry at their school for not doing anything about it. By the way, I was going to storm the school with an armed weapon demanding “justice” or anything like that! I just felt that my kids got let down by their peers and their teachers.
I calmed down
Once I had time to calm down, I decided to think about the situation from a more logical point of view. My children haven’t said anything to me, so I just guessed more than anything.
The past couple of weeks before my emotional volcano erupted, my children seemed withdrawn. They weren’t their usual selves, and they spent more time in their rooms than out of them.
I decided the best course of action was just to ask them if they were getting bullied at school. Of course, if you ask your kids a question like that, they’ll tell you no even if they are getting bullied. So, my course of action was to ask in a roundabout kind of way!
For instance, one of my kids always seemed to be starving when she got home from school. I decided to ask her “Why are you always hungry? Is somebody eating your lunch?”
I found out the truth
After some investigation, I had uncovered the reasons why my kids were acting withdrawn. And you’ll never guess what those reasons were?
One of them got upset because her friend didn’t invite her to a sleepover (she thought my daughter was away). And the other was learning, in secret, how to ballet! As you can see, kids can sometimes do things that make it look like they’re getting bullied when they’re not.
What to do if you think your kids are getting bullied
Of course, there might be times where bullying is a problem, and it is affecting your children. But, how can you find out if that’s the case and what can you do about it?
Typical signs of bullying are marks and bruises on their bodies and ripped clothing. You might also find their possessions get damaged when they go to school.
There is plenty of bullying information you can research to learn more about the signs. It’s worth doing some research in case you’re not sure.
If you know your child is getting bullied, you should speak to their school teacher. Awareness is the first step to resolving the problem. If your son or daughter won’t talk to you or them about it, you could have them talk to a counsellor. But, above all, they need to identify who’s bullying them so it can stop.
