To raise awareness of bullying in schools, the Department of Basic Education posted a series of tweets detailing signs that your child might be bullied.
According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, “bullying behaviour is a serious problem among school-age children and adolescents”. It can also be very destructive for your child to experience bullying, and, therefore, it is important to know which signs to look out for.
Bullying prevention is not only the job of the victim, the perpetrator and their parents should also try to prevent this from happening.
ALSO SEE: Help your child become bully-proof
Unfortunately, the victims are the ones that experience the psychological brunt of being bullied in the short and long term. Bullies and bystanders are also affected by this phenomenon.
Victims usually experience extreme anxiety and depression. They may also develop a strong dislike for school, which hinders their academic progress.
Below are some key tweets from the department educating parents on what to look out for.
Signs your child may be bullied at school:
– Sudden decreased interest in school (wants to stay at home)
– Sudden loss of interest in favourite school activities
– Sudden decrease in the quality of school work#StopBullying #DBE pic.twitter.com/Riay5ts2KB— Dep. Basic Education (@DBE_SA) September 15, 2020
Signs your child may be bullied at school:
– Wants the parent to take her to school instead of riding the bus
– Seems happy on weekends, but unhappy, preoccupied, or tense on Sundays
– Suddenly prefers the company of adults#StopBullying #DBE pic.twitter.com/16hENovQ7W— Dep. Basic Education (@DBE_SA) September 15, 2020
Warning Signs of Bullying:
– Frequent illnesses such as headaches and stomach aches
– Sleep issues such as nightmares and sleeplessness
– Comes home with unexplained scratches, bruises, and torn clothing#StopBullying #DBEpic.twitter.com/KyKSdozipD— Dep. Basic Education (@DBE_SA) September 15, 2020
Warning Signs of Bullying
– Talks about avoiding certain areas of the school or neighbourhood
– Suddenly becomes moody, irritable, or angry and starts bullying others
– Seeks the wrong friends in the wrong places #StopBullying #DBE pic.twitter.com/CezjyWztpt— Dep. Basic Education (@DBE_SA) September 15, 2020
Warning Signs of Bullying:
– Talks about being sad, anxious, depressed, or having panic attacks
– Wants to stay home on weekends
– Talks about suicide#StopBullying #DBE pic.twitter.com/j33LtpCe8l— Dep. Basic Education (@DBE_SA) September 15, 2020
Karabo Mokoena is a wife, a girl mom, a writer and content creator. She is the Resident Contributor for Parenty and a Mommy Blogger, creating relatable parenting content for her blog Black Mom Chronicles. You can engage with her on her Instagram and Facebook pages. She is a Political Science graduate, who has worked in Human Resources for most of her professional career. She loves engaging with people, thus her choice to specialise in recruitment. She loves telling stories and sharing her life’s journey to brighten someone else’s day
