Between one in three students in the U.S. say they have been victims of bullying. Bullying has always been an issue among children and teens, however, bullying now is at an all-time high due to the new and different ways that people can use bullying as a platform. It used to be that if you were bullied, it was at school or in a public place, and you were able to go home at some point and feel safe and try to forget about it. But, now there are also other sources of bullying such as cyberbullying that people use. Instead of just being bullied in public, people now use social media or texting to be snide towards other people. It is atrocious how high suicides among teens and even children have been since technology has been reformed. Suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people, resulting in about 4,400 deaths per year. That is an appallingly high number, but there are resources to help prevent bullying.
Websites such as Stopbullying.gov have many resources on how to deal with and prevent bullying. Having a good relationship with your child and being open to talking to them is important because they will more likely be able to explain to you how they are feeling and tell you if they are being bullied at school or online. As a parent, I would always want my child to be comfortable coming to me with any problem, especially if they were being bullied. Having an honest and open relationship with your child is an excellent way for them to be able to talk to you about any issues they may be having. Also, if you think your child may be the bully in a situation, it is very important to talk to them about why they should not bully others.
Explain to them about the facts and how serious bullying is. Show them the statistics and try to get them to understand how they are making other people feel. It's also vital to know that yelling or fighting with your child will get you nowhere, they will just feel attacked and probably won't even remember what you've told them. Getting them to really understand how what they are doing and what they are saying is seriously affecting the people they are bullying. Remember, bullying can be prevented. Talk to your children and visit Stopbullying.gov for more information on how to stop bullying.
