My Child isBeing Bullied in School - What Must I do?

In my previous blog I mentioned the signs that could help tell if your child is being bullied in school. Now, we will discuss what you can do should you discover that your child is indeed a victim of bullying.

If you see that some of the signs mentioned are present in your child, do the following suggestions.

• Ask your child if somebody is bullying him in school. Your child may tell you honestly that he is really being bullied but he may also not. They normally wont because they fear that if the bully finds out that he talked to you about it, the more that he will be bullied. (The next step is true whatever his answer will be.)
• Talk to your child's class adviser. Ask her if she notices something about your child and the other students in class. Seek her help to observe your child. Chances are she will act on it at once because teachers also do not want any of their students being hurt.
• Ask the adviser for the school's policy regarding bullying. Ask  her if they are doing measures to prevent it.
• You can also talk to the guidance counselor and ask for his help regarding your child's reaction towards the bullying he experienced. It is important that this thing be processed to ensure that your child will be able to cope up and move on.
• Do not immediately react negatively towards the bully. Find out from the teacher why that child is behaving that way. There are reasons they do such things and getting angry with them may not help. That may even make them worse. 
• Once you learn why the bully is a bully, you may want to help him in whatever way you can.  You may ask your child to invite him to your house for barbecue. You may ask him to be part of your carpool in the morning. Sometimes, reaching out to them will  stop them from targeting your child. 

Usually, if the bullying is discovered early on, addressing it would be easy. That's why it is important that parents become observant or sensitive to what's happening to their children. It is important that you ask them regularly how they are doing in school. You'll be surprised at how much you will learn if you do it.