When bullying is occurring, there may be warning signs. Ask yourself these questions:
- Are you constantly breaking up the same kids?
- Do you get to the bottom of what goes on?
- Have there been changes in the kids’ attitudes?
When a kid is being bullied, they can show many different signs that indicate that bullying is occurring. Teachers may not witness every incident, but that’s why it’s necessary to involve other students, as well as parents. Does the child have:
- Unexplainable injuries?
- Frequent headaches or stomachaches?
- Changes in eating habits?
- Difficulty sleeping?
- Declining grades?
- Loss of interest in school?
- Loss of friends?
- Lost or destroyed personal items?
- Decreased self-esteem?
Does the child avoid social situations or talk of harming themselves ? These are only a few of the warning signs that indicate that a child is being bullied. Kids rarely show all the same signs.
There are also signs that one student is bullying another:
- Does the student get into a lot of fights or have friends that bully others?
- Is the student increasingly aggressive or sent to the principal’s office frequently?
- Does the student have new belongings, blame others for their problems, refuse to accept responsibility for their actions, or worry about their popularity and reputation (US Department of Health and Human Services)?
These are only a few signs that indicate that a kid is engaging in bullying behavior. In order to fully understand what’s going on, you must communicate and work with their parents.