What to look out for

• Bullying occurs when a person intentionally and repeatedly upsets, scares, intimidates, or hurts another person.
• Bullying is never okay. It can cause short-term and long-term harm to children and adolescents.
• Signs of bullying include physical injuries, problems at preschool or school, and sadness at home.
• You can find out more about bullying by talking to and listening to your children and teens. What is Bullying? Bullying occurs when a person intentionally and repeatedly upsets, scares, intimidates, or hurts another person.

Bullying can include:

• Harassing someone, saying mean things to them, threatening them, or insulting them
• Intentionally ignoring or excluding someone from a game or activity
• Telling bad jokes or spreading rumors
• Shocking, tripping, or bumping into someone
• Stealing or breaking someone’s things or asking for money
• Encouraging others to join in or participate in this behavior.

Bullying is never okay.

How bullying affects children and young people
Bullying can be devastating. It can harm children and young people in many different ways:

• Self-esteem – they may feel bad and lose confidence.
• Mental health – they may feel anxious, stressed, sad or depressed.
• Physical health – they may have trouble sleeping, lose their appetite or feel unwell.

Children and Young People: Signs of Bullying
Your child may tell you that they are being bullied. For example, your child may say that other kids make fun of them, tease them, belittle them, laugh at them, insult them, ignore them, physically hurt them or threaten them.

If your child hasn’t said anything but you’re worried, here are some signs to look out for:

• Physical Signs
• This can include:

Physical Signs
This can include:

• Bruises, cuts and scratches
• Torn clothes
• Missing property
• Eating or sleeping poorly
• Bedwetting
• Complaints of headaches or stomach aches. Teens: Signs of Bullying
• Teenage bullying can be hard to recognize.

It is often less physical than bullying towards younger kids. In addition, your child may try to hide it from you and others. He may feel embarrassed or scared, or he may not want you to worry. If you ask, he may deny it ever happened. Often times, teens just wish the bullying would stop.

But there are signs of teen bullying to look out for. These include problems at school and emotional, behavioral, or physical signs, for example:

School problems

• Refusing to go to school, looking for excuses not to go to school, or skipping school and not telling you about it
• Feeling unhappy or anxious before or after school
• Saying “I hate school” or being afraid of school
• Performing poorly at school.

Changes in emotions
Your child may:

• Show signs of anxiety
  Appearing irritable, unhappy, depressed, tearful, or angry. Behavioral ChangesYour child may:
• Isolate himself increasingly from othersHe may have less self-confidence – for example, he may say things like “I’m no good” or be unable to try new things.
• He may ask for moneyHe may start to freak out unexpectedly – for example, slamming the door or yelling “I don’t get it!”He may start using alcohol or other drugs.

Physical Signs Your child may:

• Have trouble sleeping. He may have physical injuries that he cannot or will not explain, such as bruises or torn clothing. He may come home with damaged or lost items. He may complain of headaches or stomach aches on a regular basis. He may take less care of himself – for example, he may not shower or brush his teeth regularly