21 Feb Bullying: 11 Warning Signs that your Child is Being Bullied
Sticks and Stones Aren’t the Only Harmful Methods
Many adults can still recall the name of the “school bully” (or bullies) from childhood. Bullying is not a new challenge for children, but it should not be dismissed as simply “a part of growing up”. Bullying is a serious issue of abuse: it can be emotional, verbal, physical, or some combination of the three. In 2011, the Journal of Child Development discussed a study conducted at UCLA where it was determined that verbal abuse happens twice as often as physical abuse and “the students who were beat up and those who were called names were equally bothered.” Today, we have an additional form of bullying: cyber bullying, which takes bullying to a whole new level and can continue to harm children when they want to be in the safety of their own homes. How will you know if your child is being bullied?
Your Child May Not Tell You
As parents, we want to protect our children from bullying, but how do we know if a child is being bullied? Most likely, she won’t simply come up to you and say, “Kids are teasing me, calling me names, and bullying me at school, on my texts, on my phone, etc.”
Warning Signs that Your Child May be Bullied:
- Not wanting to go to school or complaining about being sick, with no clear physical ailments
- Being scared to walk to or from school, refusing to take the school bus, or begging you to drive him to school
- Coming home with clothes, books, or belongings destroyed, “lost”, or missing
- Coming home starving (because the bully took his lunch money)
- Asking for money or starting to steal money (to pay the bully)
- Becoming withdrawn, distressed, or anxious
- Crying himself to sleep or having nightmares
- Beginning to bully other children, especially siblings
- Refusing to go to the bathroom at school and/or coming home with a sense of urgency
- Attempting or threatening suicide
- Giving unlikely excuses for any of the above
If your child begins to act differently, seems anxious, is not eating or sleeping well, not doing things he or she used to enjoy, or avoiding certain situations, bullying may be occurring. It is time to ask if someone is bullying or threatening him. Learn more about what parents and schools can do to help. https://northshorefamilyservices.com/bullying-what-parents-schools-can-do-to-help/
Dori has provided therapeutic services to children, adolescents, adults, and families since 1994 in several areas of social work including foster care, schools, hospitals, and private practice. She earned her Master of Social Work from The University of Illinois at Chicago’s Jane Addams College of Social Work in 1997 and her Bachelor of Science in psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
She is an Amazon best-selling author and a professional speaker who has been interviewed on ABC, NBC, various podcasts, and radio shows as an expert discussing therapeutic topics and her published works.
Dori offers speaking presentations on various therapy-related topics including, but not limited to anxiety, depression, ADHD, executive functioning, life transitions, effective communication, parenting strategies, work/life integration, and even staying sane while staying informed. She also speaks to businesses and business owners about the importance of hiring for company cultural fit, networking, leadership, and business growth. As a multi-location private therapy practice owner, she provides a culture of accountability, compassion, and creativity, emphasizing the importance of collaboration (with client consent) with parents, teachers, and other professionals to provide the most beneficial services to achieve maximum results for all clients to translate to every aspect of their lives.
As a mother of three, she knows the excitement and challenges of navigating parenting, behavioral and emotional distress, social pressures and rejection, academic successes and struggles, and identity formation. Dori is passionate about providing clients with the tools they need to navigate the challenges they face now to improve their quality of life long after therapy ends.
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