Parents: 5 Signs That Your Child May be Getting Bullied at School
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 1 out of 5 students aged 12-18 have been bullied at least once — but many several times — during the school year. The problem is so prevalent and severe that 160,000 kids have skipped school due to bullying, and in extreme cases bullied children have contemplated or carried out suicide.
As harrowing as these statistics are, there is some positive news as well: the National Bullying Prevention Center has found that 57% of bullying activity stops when a peer — such as a teacher, principal, resource officer, police officer, or parent — intervenes on behalf of the victim.
In light of this, and so that you can be part of the solution if necessary, here are five signs that your child may be getting bullied at school:
- Your child appears dishevelled after returning home from school.
It’s normal for younger children to come home from school with the occasional rip in their jeans — especially if they’re active and enjoy playing sports at recess. However, if your child is regularly coming home from school appearing dishevelled, then it could be due to physical abuse or assault.
- Your child has cuts, bruises or scrapes.
Again, it’s normal for children to occasionally come home with a scrape — those gravel-filled baseball diamonds can be very unforgiving! However, if this is happening and your child is not forthcoming with a suitable explanation, then you need to contact the school and discover what’s going on. There’s a good chance that your child is being physically attacked and things could be getting worse by the day.
- Your child loses interest in school.
If you’ve noticed that your child’s enthusiasm for school has turned into apathy or dread, then it could be more than just a matter of academic struggles or unpleasant teachers: it could be the result of bullying (including cyberbullying, which often follows kids home and turns their life into a living hell).
- Your child takes extra long to come home from school.
There are all kinds of perfectly acceptable reasons why your child may want to take a longer route home from school. For example, they may want to walk home with friends vs. walk home alone (and those friends take a longer route), they may want to swing by the park, and so on. However, it could also be the result of bullying. If your child is consistently coming home later than usual, find out why and confirm whether they are doing so in order to avoid a confrontation.
- Your child becomes socially isolated and isolating.
If your child has few or no friends, then it could be because they’re shy, because they’re not very confident socially (some children take longer than others to develop in this area), because they’re just highly introverted — or maybe because they’re being bullied. As such, if your child appears to be socially isolated and becomes angry or terrified at the prospect of doing something with a friend from school, then you should look into this and see if there’s more to the story that requires your attention — and possibly, your intervention.
The Bottom Line
None of the signs above automatically means that your child is being bullied, and it’s important not to panic and jump to conclusions. However, as the old saying goes: where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire. Don’t ignore these signs, and don’t be afraid to ask for help and guidance. You’ll find good resources — including tips on promoting collaboration and communication with your child — at StopBullying.gov, CDC.gov, and StompOutBullying.org.
