Bullying – Know the Signs

This is National Youth Violence Prevention Week. One of the most common forms of youth violence is bullying. According to the CDC in an article on youth violence, “bullying is a type of youth violence that threatens young people’s well-being.”

The Department of Health and Human Services presents a weatlh of information on bullying on this website. Here are the warning signs:

Signs Your Child Is Being Bullied

• Has your child come home with unexplained injuries?
• Have he or she lost clothes, books, electronics, or jewelry or are those things being broken or destroyed?
• Has your child started to complain of headaches or stomach aches?
• Are you noticing changes in their eating habits, like suddenly not feeling like eating or now overreating?
• Is your child having difficulty sleeping or complaining of frequent nightmares?
• Are your child’s grades getting worse; have they lost interest in schoolwork or do they want to stop going to school?
• Is your child avoiding social situations or seem to have withdrawn from their friends?
• Is your child expressing signs of depression such as lowered self-esteem, increased helplessness, talking of suicide or doing things to hurt themselves?

Signs Your Child is Bullying Others

• Has your child started getting into physical or verbal fights?
• Does he or she have friends who are bullies?
• Is your child becoming increasingly aggressive?
• Are you getting notes from the school about discipline problems ?
• Does your child have unexplained extra money or new belongings?
• Does your child refuse to accept responsibility for their actions or blame others for his or her problems?
• Is your child overly competitive and worry excessively about their reputation or popularity?

If you think your child may be a victim or perpetrator of bullying, you may need to seek help with helping your child. Contact our office and schedule an appointment with one of our child therapists who can help.