Signs Your Child is Being Bullied

How Can a Parent or Other Adult Know if a Child is Being Bullied? What Every Parent Needs to Know.

Bullying as a serious childhood issue has recently made its way into the national consciousness. Once thought of as a childhood fact of life, bullying is finally being recognized as a seriously adverse childhood experience that can have lifelong consequences. However, understanding that schoolyard abuse is harmful doesn’t make it easier to detect. Often, children, for reasons of their own, hide the abuse or even just the extent of the bullying they are experiencing. It takes an observant parent to discern the signs that something is wrong, particularly if the child isn’t forthcoming.

What is Bullying?

Firstly, a clarification of what bullying is: deliberate, aggressive, and repeated behavior that involves the following:

• Physical attacks
• Verbal attacks
• Emotional abuse, including manipulation, isolation, and threats
• Cyberbullying (online harassment, account theft, impersonation, and threats)
• Racist slurs and comments
• Sexual harassment and assault

What are the Warning Signs?

Unfortunately, bullying is not only found between children in a class but sometimes adults can be involved. Parents, teachers, coaches, and other adults can stray into the realm of abusive behavior. These days, one must be very aware of all a child's relationships, both in and out of the classroom. Here are some warning signs that your child may be suffering at the hands of another:

• Change of general mood

If a child goes from a typically sunny disposition to anxious, absent-minded, angry, and depressed, some investigation is warranted. No one can hide the effects of abuse for very long, particularly the young. If your child suddenly exhibits a sea-change in their normal temperament, ask questions.

• Real or feigned illness

Constant stomach issues, sleeplessness, and/or headaches suggest stress-induced illness, as does a sudden lack of appetite. If your child is looking for ways to stay home, there may be a reason. Don’t assume they are just looking for a day off. That happens occasionally, but regular complaints should alert you to a deeper issue.

• Bumps, bruises, and torn clothing

While these are a staple of an active child, if injuries and broken toys or torn clothes begin to be a regular feature, a parent is right to be suspicious. It is easy to overlook these symptoms as just the carelessness of children. Still, bullying leaves marks that we should pay attention to.

• Social isolation

Every kid needs their tribe. If a child has no friends, something is very wrong. Other indications of isolation include a reluctance to attend school functions, never mentioning friends at school, and extended periods alone. Bullying is a traumatic experience that can cause a child to shut down emotionally. It can deprive children of social relationships and prevent them from maturing into a fulfilling adulthood.

• Loss of interest in usual activities

This loss of interest can vary from suddenly poor grades to once frequently enjoyed activities that dwindle into rare occasions. Attributing inattention to schoolwork to laziness or a disliked teacher can be tempting. Still, any real change from a good to average student to a failing one is a cry for help.

How to Respond to Bullying

Parents need to be cautious when attempting to treat the symptoms rather than ferreting out any root causes.

Conventional wisdom used to encourage children to stand up for themselves to face their bullies. But that doesn’t work often, particularly if the odds are stacked against them. The unequal power dynamic inherent in bullying can make such actions dangerous. And how does one stand up to cyberbullying? Suppose your child is physically harmed by another, or worse, by a group of classmates. In that case, the issue becomes one of assault and may need the intervention of the police.

Schools, unfortunately, often have an incentive to stay neutral in cases of bullying as well. No administrator wants their school to have a bad reputation, nor do they relish confronting the parents of bullies. However, parents are the main line of defense for their children. When we confront our children’s bullies and enforce healthy boundaries with other parents, teachers, classmates, and even institutions, we teach them that their lives are valuable and worth fighting for. We teach them to face adversity through having the courage to face it ourselves.

On one last note, having an open and communicative relationship with our children can prevent a world of hurt. We teach them how to choose relationships wisely, not by lecturing them, but by modeling respect, honesty, and affection. Being a safe listening ear can mean all the difference in an often unsafe world.

Why TruPlay Games Can Be a Haven from Bullying

Parents and others who are concerned for the safety of children must be aware that many video games children are playing expose them to bullying and other dangers. The ability of players to interact with others—known and unknown—through text and voice chat in many games exposes kids to abusive and predatory behavior. That’s why the TruPlay mobile app—a platform of multiple games, yet with none of the concerning content or vulnerabilities of such games—can be a haven from bullying.

The TruPlay app offers countless hours of games, comics, and animated shorts that feature high quality art, action-packed games, and thoughtful storytelling. Each offering is infused with God’s Truth. It is a Christian resource for all ages, but especially for children. It is sometimes referred to as “the Netflix of Christian mobile games for children.” But it's intentionally structured to avoid the dangers of many games that allow others to gain access to game-playing children.

TruPlay employs a subscription-based model, which allows children and adults to play, read, and have fun in an environment with no in-app purchases, no ads, and no in-app texting or chats. This means, of course, that kids can't spend money, buy "loot," click to go to outside and unknown sites, and "chat" with possible predators.

Beyond that, however, TruPlay offers even more than safety; its ever-expanding selection of games includes Bible stories, Christian themes and values, and countless hours of engaging fun for children, youth, and adults.

Explore TruPlay Games for Free

TruPlay's website (TruPlayGames.com) clearly details the app's offerings, and free downloads and trials are available in both the Apple App Store and GooglePlay. Explore the following links to unlock a safer gaming experience for your kids:

● https://www.truplaygames.com/games-more

● https://www.truplaygames.com/user-registration

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