Can Your Child Talk To You About Being Bullied At School?

Are there open discussions during dinner or at other times in your home? Does your child have the opportunity to speak to you honestly without worrying about being judged? If your child has been the victim of bullying at school, can your child talk to you about it? These are some questions that you need to ask yourself and the answers to these question should be yes, he or she can. You are your child’s first line of defense against problems of the world that the experience outside the home, particularly at school.

Bullying is something that happens regularly to many children across the country and around the world. The unfortunate reality is that many of the children who are being bullied are suffering alone in silence because they believe that they have no one to turn to. Some children fear that exposing the bully will get them into more trouble when the bully finds out that they told. This is the worst kind of suffering for a child who is being bullied and if your child cannot talk to you about this problem, some swift action needs to be taken to get matters into hand and put an end to the bullying.
 
Starting a conversation may be the most challenging part of finding out about your child’s bullying at school. If they are being bullied, they may instantly deny any inquisitions and even be adamant that they are not being bullied. This is the point where you will have to trust your parent wit or intuition. If you suspect that your child is being bullied but doesn’t want to talk about it, make sure that your child understands that you are in their corner and that you will not tolerate them being bullied.
 
If your child opens up and admits that he or she is being bullied, don’t overreact. Stay calm and listen to everything they say. Make sure you get the details correct. Write them down if you need to and offer your child understanding and support. Show him or her that you are a person of your word and contact the school administration to have a discussion. Let your child take a step back from the first meeting if they are overly wrought about the bullying.
 
Remember that communication is a two-way street and just as your child has opened up to talk with you about being bullied, make sure that you talk back and share your feelings of support and concern for the situation as well as your intentions to put an end to the bullying. Give your child praise for trusting you to understand and explain that under no circumstances does he or she have to tolerate being bullied.