THE DANGERS OF BULLYING ON YOUNG STUDENTS
Young students who are victims of bullying are usually sad and frustrated. Being a target of constant bullying can cause a lot of damage to a child in different ways. The sad truth is that most adults are unaware of the dangers that come with bullying, except if they have bullied themselves. You can have a hard time noticing or understanding just how much those children go through when no one is watching.
You may fail to see that the effects of bullying can have a long-lasting influence or impact on your child. Building a good relationship with your child can help them open up often to you whenever someone happens. Having a relationship where you barely communicate with your child or urge them to open up to you freely can cause many problems in the future, such as bullying and keeping mute for a very long time until things get out of hand.
If you do not understand the effects of bullying and what it does to a child’s mind and personality, you may not be able to save your child. According to researchers, over 3.2 million students are victims of bullying every year. That is a lot of students, and most times, the bullies get violent, which may result in bruises, physical abuse and, in some cases, death.
Any attempts to save victims from their bullies may prove to be tough if you do not understand how they feel. You can’t stop something you do not relate with, not like you have to relate before you help, but understanding your child and their emotions can help bring a faster solution to that problem.
What is bullying?
Bullying is the use of physical force, verbal abuse, threats, or coercion, to dominate and intimidate a person aggressively. This is when someone or a group of people intentionally causes you pain and displeasure by constantly picking on you for petty or no reasons at all.
Why do they bully?
There are different reasons why people bully others, such as;
- Attention seeking.
- To hide their insecurities.
- Power drunk.
- Getting things their own way.
- Abusive homes.
- For popularity.
- Going through difficult times.
- Copying what they’ve seen somewhere, like their homes.
- Low self-esteem.
- Poor social skills
Those are some reasons why people bully others. Now let’s look into the types of bullying.
Physical bullying: this is an act of bullying that involves the use of physical contact like kicking, hitting, biting, or threats on victims to show dominance.
- Cyber Bullying: making use of the internet or electronic gadgets to bully and cause discomfort to others by constant threats online, on social apps like Facebook, direct text messages, emails and the rest. Using electronic gadgets like phone cameras to circulate unflattering photos of victims and harass them constantly for a very long time.
- Verbal bullying: harsh teasing and misuse of words to hurt others through insults or weird name calling.
- Sexual bullying: this is either physical or non-physical, it involves inappropriate comments or physical contact with a person that is generally sexualised or with a sexual motive.
- Emotional bullying: This type of bullying is very common among girls, where the victim is isolated or excluded from the activities of a group or peers and spreads rumours that are usually not true.
You may find it hard to know if your child is being bullied at school or not. I will list out some signs for you to look out for that can determine if your child is a victim of bullying or not.
- Different signs that a child is being bullied.
- Unexplainable injuries and bruises.
- Sudden fear of school.
- Lack of concentration
- Low grades
- Social isolation
- Anxiety
The effects of bullying on young students
- Reduced academic performance:
One of the signs of child bullying is a decrease in grades in school. Kids were often bullied Preoccupied with bullying. They completely forgot about their studies and homework and paid less attention in class. A child may skip school or try to avoid school to stay clear of the bullying. When a child’s grades begin to decrease, his or her stress level increases as they or feel unproductive and may even justify the reasons why they are being bullied by their peers.
- Physical effects:
Besides the bruises and injuries from bullying, other factors affect a child physically. For example, A bullied child is most likely to develop anxiety and constant fear, which is stressful, as he or she is always panicked and stressed out, wondering when the bullies will attack again. This can lead to other health problems like falling sick often and suffering from other ailments caused by constant anxiety. Your child may complain of persistent headaches, stomach aches, skin conditions, or heart problems that are worsened by pressure and stress.
- Effects on parents:
If you have a child who is bullied, you may feel a sense of guilt because you could not protect him from bullying, but you need to know that anybody can be bullied, and no matter how hard you try to prevent it from happening, it did happen. You may feel your child drift far away from you, which can leave you feeling helpless and sad. This also has an impact on siblings. Yes, the bullied child may not want to interrupt his siblings for some obvious reasons.
- Low self-esteem:
A bully child is most likely to have low self-esteem and confidence. Constant bullying can lead to a child not feeling very good about himself and can lead to so many insecurities.
- Suicidal thoughts:
This is not new, as young students who are unable to get away from their bullies may have dark thoughts about ending their lives because they are tricked into believing that that is their only way out.
Conclusion
As a parent, guardian, or teacher, it is your duty to protect your child or student from bullying. Help save lives of young students who are enduring this dangerous act!
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