06 Oct Kids Bullying – And the affect on them
What is Bullying?
Bullying involves unwanted, aggressive behavior, which may also involve kids constantly being made fun of.
When these “jokes” get unkind and hurtful.
Bullies usually pick on people who seem emotionally, or physically weaker, or appear to be different from the rest.
Types of bullying
Kids can be bullied in four different ways, which can be verbal, physical, psychological and cyberbullying.
Verbal bullying can involve calling names, giving threats, and making fun.
Physical bullying can involve pushing, punching, and hitting.
Psychological bullying can involve spreading rumors, or not including someone in conversations.
Cyberbullying is the new way of bullying kids which is done using social media platforms, this can include commenting something hurtful, having hate posts or making hate accounts.
Some reasons for bullying
Some of the reasons why kids start bullying is because this is what is modeled to them by their parents.
It is more likely for children who get bullied at home to go out and bully others, compared to kids who are not bullied at home.
Another reason is that bullies can be insecure, it is normal for kids to be jealous of something another kid may have.
By bullying, the kids usually divert more attention towards the bully, which makes them feel “cool.”
Bullying can be used to make the bully feel powerful and superior.
When the bully knows that their actions can affect the other person they start doing it more often.
Bullying does not only have short term effects, but also serious long term effects.
Signs your kid is getting bullied:
It’s always important to keep an eye on your kids’ behavior and constantly observe if there is any drastic changes in it – as that might point out that something is wrong and they might have been or are bullied at school :
1. Eating behaviour
Some kids might stop eating , start eating less or not eating as well as they used to
2. Enjoyment
Some kids might avoid activities they have enjoyed or liked in the past .
3. Behaviour change
In some cases kids might show signs of anxiety , mood swings , easy to get upset as well as episodes of uncontrolled violence towards other kids or property.
4. Academic Performance
Kids might show a drop in their academic performance and mental tasks performance – and in severe cases might lead to them wanting to drop out of school.
5. Aches & Pains
The child might start complaining about different chronic aches and pains that he never experienced before .
Issues such as headaches , stomach aches or muscle aches that apparently will not allow them to go to school and give them excuses to avoid dealing with the source of the problem .
6. Lack of sleep
Kids might have hard time to fall asleep and they will be exhausted in the morning or in a constant lack of energy state .
7. Signs of violence
Sometimes kids may even come home with scars, torn clothes and bruises, which is something you should not ignore as a parent.
Side effects of bullying:
There are a lot of side effects that are linked to bullying.
Usually academic performance significantly drops as a kid gets bullied. They also try to distance themselves from everyone including their parents, friends and peers.
This makes the kid feel lonely and have low self-esteem, increasing the chance of them having suicidal thoughts and even doing self-harm.
Bullying can leave the kid with both physical and emotional scars.
Kids who get bullied often struggle to make new friends and maintain healthy friendships.
Bullying also involves long term effects such as psychosomatic symptoms which includes stomach aches, headaches, muscle aches, and other physical complaints with no known medical causes.
Bullied kids can also end up with anxiety disorders, chronic depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, self destructive behavior and much more.
How can you help your child:
Always ensure that you have a strong communication system between you and your kids.
This is important to have because if your kids are going through a hard time at school it will be easy for them to share their feelings and thoughts with you.
When you don’t listen to your kids, they will feel unheard, which will lead them to bottle up their feelings.
Always make sure you support your kids especially in such situations where they feel helpless.
Don’t get angry, impatient or frustrated with your kid, instead let them know that none of this was their fault.
In order to prepare your kids better for these situations, you can always make them join activities that will help boost their confidence and have a little sense of being powerful which will help them deal with their bullies.
You can make your kids join classes such as boxing, BJJ, MMA or other martial arts – to build their confidence and skillsets .
Try having “what if scenarios” with your kids which will help them face bullies or stressful situations better as they would know what to do and how to react in these situations.
We in Fitness in Motion taking kids behaviour very seriously and help kids overcome their day to day challenges .
With our martial arts classes we help kids build their confidence , deal with challenges and learn practical applications for situations they might encounter.
Want to know more of our activities ?
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.