School bullying is a problem that must be addressed seriously when experienced by a child or a young person or as a prevention.
Last week, on a tiny island located in the Caribbean called Martinique where I originally come from, a young 15 years old girl committed suicide.
It is believed that she was victim of bullying by her classmates. It was a big shock for this small island.
When I think that a few decades ago, on this island, we used to be so relaxed and quite lay back. And, violence among the young children was so rare. Nowadays, it seems to be more common and even normal.
I don’t generally like talking about negative news but when you are a parent, you cannot stay indifferent to such tragedy.
These young children who kill themselves due to bad behavior from others could have been my children.
This teenager from Martinique was called Brittany. She could have been my own daughter.
Even though my son is still very young, it is not too early to start gathering information about potential threat. I want to be aware of things happening out there. So, I’d better be prepared now and learn how to handle bullying before it is too late.
Being bullied can happen from school, on the phone and on social media network. And it can happen to anybody.
As a matter of fact, I was bullied when I was in primary school. As you know, kids can be very cruel. As soon as they notice that you are different from them or you don’t belong to their ‘group’, they try to intimidate you or calling you name.
When I was young, I was very shy and I was in my own world. At that time, I think I could have described myself as a day dreamer.
Maybe my ‘attackers’ didn’t like that. But, we will never really know what cross their mind to start hurting somebody.
You never know how this can end but I remember I was still young when I took a conscious decision not to be a victim any longer. I didn’t allow anyone telling me any abusive comment. So, I became quite defensive and I wasn’t afraid to reply in an aggressive manner. Surely, it was not the perfect way to deal with it but I needed to limit the damage.
Unfortunately, everyone deals with different issues in different ways. Regarding bullying, as a parent or carer, we have to be aware of the signs in order to help our children.
What are the signs?
The signs should ring the bells and help the parent to identify there is something going on with their child.
The early they can notice them, the earlier they can intervene before it is too late. Here are the clues:
– Problem with eating and sleeping,
– Losing confidence,
– Being sad,
– Not doing so well at school,
– Finding excuses not to go to school anymore
– Being depressed or anxious
I have listed some signs to give you an idea but unfortunately the list can be longer.
I think that when you know well your child, you must be able to sense that there is something different about their behavior.
Although, I am well aware that sometimes the communication between a teenager and a parent can be very challenging. However, we must find a way to reach out our children before the impossible occur.
Also, should your child be a victim of bullying, you must encourage him or her to speak out either to you or a teacher (somebody with authority).
Finally, being bullying is not fun and should not be taken lightly. As a prevention, we can talk about it to avoid that our children is not a victim. But, also we have to make sure that our own child is not the author of bullying.
Do you have anything to share about it? Let me know what you think about bullying.
