Does Your Child Have A Bully And What Can You Do About It?

My childhood was not all that happy. I had a couple of bullies when I was in grade school. That had a deep impact on my life. It greatly affected my personality, self-esteem, and self-worth.

These bullies gathered (what seemed like to me) the whole school, and coached them to make fun at me. I know this played a big part in my shyness. Anyone that knows me knows that confidence and self-esteem is really not one of my virtues. I struggle with that everyday.

I don't like talking about it to anyone. It's still a rather unpleasant and painful distant memory. I still have occasional nightmares about it. I could have done something about this and told my parents...and to this day, I'm not really sure why I didn't. The only reason I can come up with is shame. However, I did tell them years later. They were rather upset with me that I didn't tell them at the time.

My shyness and self-esteem has improved to some degree over the years, especially through growing up...but I know that my life would have been totally different had I not experienced this as a child. School bullies can be very cruel, and it just fuels their fire if you show them you are scared or upset. And that was my big mistake. I'm really happy that my son didn't experience anything remotely like that. That was my biggest fear. Thank God he didn't. Hopefully, writing this article will prove to be therapeutic for me.

Does your child seem sad or depressed?
Does he or she have problems sleeping?
Do they seem to lack confidence and self-esteem?
Do their school grades suffer?
Does your child dread going to shcool?

These could all be signs of being bullied. If your child seems to have these characteristics, you need to have a talk with them. Ask them how things are going at school. Maybe volunteer a couple of days at school to see for yourself if there is anything going on.

If you suspect your child is being bullied...talk to him or her and find out exactly who is doing the bullying, if they will tell you. Once you are aware of who it is, first...approach your child's teacher and make for sure they know what's been going on and demand something be done about it.
If the situation doesn't get resolved by consulting the teacher, then it's time to meet with the school principal. Worse case scenario...consult the bully's parents.

What can you do as a parent to help your child?

1. When a child is being bullied, their self-esteem and dignity is automatically challenged. Use every opportunity to praise your child, even for the simplest thing. Only YOU know your child...find something about them to praise or brag about everyday.

2. Offer your support and talk with them openly about it. While it may be tempting to encourage your child to fight back, always resist this temptation. Fighting back may only make the situation worse. It could result into violence and more trouble, and someone could end up getting injured. It's best to tell your child to just walk away. Instruct them to not let the bully know they are angry, scared, or upset. This can be a challenge, I know. Tell your child to be as brave as possible and try to ignore the bully.

3. Consult a guidance counselor about the situation.

4. Try to encourage your child to make more friends and join in on various youth programs, such as sports or a club. Encourage them to get together with friends that help build their confidence.

5. Some states have bullying laws and policies. If the situation doesn't get resolved or gets worse, it would be a good idea to check out the laws in your community. If your child's safety is at risk, contacting legal authorities may be necessary.

Article Written By Tammy Embrich

Tammy owns and operates two work at home websites, a work at home forum, a recipe site and three blogs.

She offers free work at home job leads for the job seeker, business work at home articles, tips, and more. You can visit Tammy at Work At Home Jobs and Parent Zone.

Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com