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By: Florrie Poff

Bullying is probably one of the most serious problems your child could ever experience. You may find this article helpful to identify some of the signs that may indicate your child is being bullied.

Any behavior that intimidates or causes your child distress, hurt or pain whether emotionally, physically or a combination of these is regarded as bullying. There is no particular reason why a child may be susceptible to being bullied. For example, a child may be bullied because they wear contact lenses, or because of their appearance, religion, race, signs of poverty, family break-up, being shy or quiet. A child that stands out to be different from other children is usually picked on by the bully because the bully feels they can easily be bullied.

Bullying can destroy the confidence a child has thus leaving them feeling worthless, frightened, withdrawn and isolated. If bullying is not stopped quickly the consequences could impact on a child for many years ahead.

In the recent past several surveys of children have been undertaken and many have found that more than half said that they had been bullied at school. Most schools have in place an anti-bullying policy. However, despite this it would appear that bullying continues to be a major issue for children of all ages in our society today.

As parents, one of the most important things that needs to be learnt is being able to recognize the signs that might indicate that your child is being bullied in school, or indeed any club or society that your child may attend. Whilst these signs do not automatically point to bullying, they nevertheless can be a useful indicator. These are the signs to look out for:

Money for food and drink taken.

Has low self-esteem when previously this appeared good.

Shows high levels of anxiety.

. A change in your child's behavior such as being moody, depressed, tearful or quiet and withdrawn when he/she comes home.

Torn clothes visible after returning from school.

Visible signs of being anxious.

Personal items have been damaged, broken, or are missing.

Feeling sick before school, or has a headache, or stomach ache, and therefore does not want to attend school that day.

Interest in school activities has reduced.

A loss of appetite.

The development of low self-esteem when previously this was not a problem.

Being anxious.

Arrives home from school with torn clothes.

Has fewer friends than previously, or no real friends at all.

Interest in school work has deteriorated and school grades have recently fallen.

Nowadays, because of modern technology many children have a cell/mobile phone and Internet access. Phone numbers and email addresses are often shared with friends. However, friendships can easily end and personal information can later be used against a child to cause pain and embarrassment.

Therefore, does your child own a cell/mobile phone? It could be your child is receiving regular insulting, threatening or vulgar text messages. The bully may also leave unpleasant messages on the answer phone. So, is this happening to your child?

The bully may also be sending your child threatening emails, or several children may be carrying out a very unpleasant campaign against your child through emails or unmonitored Internet chat rooms. Therefore, it is very important that parents monitor the use of these modern methods of communication and check how these are affecting your child.

If your child is suffering, it is possible that the cause is not bullying but some other problem. It may be prudent to check out the reason as your child might be genuinely unwell. You are in the best position to determine what the problem is as you know your child better than anyone else. Seek medical help if necessary.

Careful and thorough investigation is necessary and it is only when this has been done will you be able to confirm or otherwise whether or not your child is being bullied. Once you know this, you can then take whatever action is needed to remedy any bullying. Whatever you do, do not leave anything to chance. Keep your eyes and ears open and as soon as you suspect anything, take action quickly.

Article Source: http://www.yesparenting.com/articles

About the author: Florrie Poff can help you to defeat child bullying. For Defeat Bullying Strategies subscribe to her Defeat Bullying Newsletter and receive Two Free eBook Chapters This article is available as a unique content article with free reprint rights.

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