12 signs that your child may be a victim of bullying

Bullying, also known as “systematic intimidation”, refers to any aggressive, verbal or psychological, intentional and repetitive act that occurs without motivation. Practiced by one or more individuals, the action has become one of the main problems of social interaction, especially in the school environment, when children and adolescents are still in formation.

“The problem can cause pain and anguish in children and adolescents who are bullied or attacked by another person without having the possibility or ability to defend themselves, mainly because, in most cases, those who bully have an unequal relationship of strength or power over the other”, explains psychiatrist Dr. Jessica Martani, specialist in human behavior and mental health.

How to identify the bullying?

Bullying puts victims under great pressure. As a result, they become fragile, presenting some physical and psychological signs that can be observed by parents and educators, such as:

• Lack of interest in school: tantrum for not wanting to go for fear of physical or verbal aggression;
• Isolation: when the child avoids friends and family, shutting himself in his room and not wanting to go out with peers;
• Lowest grades in school: due to lack of attention in class;
• Lack of appreciation: feeling of being unable to do different actions and tasks frequently;
• ​Attacks of rage and impulsiveness: wanting to hit himself and others or throwing an object;
• To cry: bouts of crying constantly and apparently for no reason;
• lack of spirit: keeping your head down and claiming a feeling of tiredness;
• Insomnia: presenting trouble sleeping or having nightmares;
• Injured: with wounds on the body, with the child saying he didn’t know how they came about;
• Damaged or lost objects: torn, dirty clothes or missing belongings;
• Lack of appetite: the child does not want to eat even the favorite food;
• Complaint of pain: in parts of the body, in the head or frequent stomach pain.

Influenced bullying virtual

A growing and serious modality of bullying and the cyberbullying or bullying virtual, one that occurs in electronic media, with defamatory or threatening messages. These, in turn, can circulate through e-mails, websites, blogs (the virtual diaries), social networks and cell phones.

“It’s almost an extension of what students say and do at school, but anonymously. Anonymity can increase the cruelty of comments and the threats and the effects can be as serious or worse, which is why even greater attention needs to be given to controlling the cell phones, tablets and computers of children and adolescents”, says the specialist.

By Mayra Barreto Cinel