Do you have any memories of other people making you feel unwelcome in what should’ve been a safe space?
It’s an unfortunate reality that 70% of kids get bullied in school nowadays and many of them suffer from it on a regular basis. Bullying feels like an isolating experience, but many of us can recall a time when our peers were cruel to us even if it happened decades ago.
Learning about the effects of bullying can help us take action to change the culture in our schools and make every child feel secure. Read on if you’d like to understand the long-term effects of bullying.
Children Grow Up With a Warped Relationship With Their Appearance
One of the worst emotional effects of bullying is internalizing negative comments until they become our own voices. Instead of celebrating how healthy and happy you look in an outfit, your negative voice may start attacking you for being fat, having a weird nose, or being too tall.
Our bodies can do incredibly awesome things! Every child deserves to feel strong and beautiful, but bullying can make us resent ourselves. Failing to unpack the trauma of bullying can lead to people doing all kinds of harmful things to themselves because they feel like they need to be punished.
People Who Were Bullied May Never Reach Their Greatest Potential
After my daughter was bullied because of her skin, I had to make sure that she knew that she was brilliant and should feel proud of all her hard work. It’s scary as a parent to reflect on human nature. We may hear a hundred positive comments about us, but one negative comment can tear us down.
I’ve even struggled with achieving everything I’ve wanted to do. Back when I was a student, I got teased for writing a book about my boarding school experiences. If I didn’t get help with bullying, their words could’ve discouraged me from pursuing my passions and I might not have had this wonderful blog now.
Dealing With Bullying Makes It Hard to Build Healthy Relationships
There’s nothing more tragic than getting betrayed by people who you thought were your friends. Comments from strangers certainly sting, but they’re easier to brush off since they don’t truly know us. When bullying comes from a friend, we can feel like we did something to deserve their harsh treatment.
Another incident that I can recall was in eighth grade when a classmate dumped baby powder on my pillow. She told me that it was cocaine from my drug-dealing sister and I lost control of my emotions. Even though I knew my sister would never do that, I couldn’t help but feel scared of how much trouble both of us would get into if my father heard this story.
I felt embarrassed and stupid because of the way I handled that event. While I was able to heal, there are plenty of people out there who still have a hard time connecting with others due to trust issues and a fear of public humiliation.
What Can We Do As Parents When Our Children Are Bullied?
We all want to protect our babies from the darkness in this world, but being overbearing can cause issues as well. It’s important to foster an open relationship with your kids so they feel safe talking to you about any bullying they’re experiencing. Sometimes all they’ll need to feel better is a hug and some words of validation or just to be heard.
Some instances are severe enough to involve the principal and other authorities. In most cases, though, we have to teach our kids to love themselves and navigate life with kindness and empathy. Letting go is tough, but letting our kids learn that they’re strong enough to blossom in the face of adversity is a priceless lesson.
The Effects of Bullying Should Never Be Underestimated
Learning about the effects of bullying can help us give our children all of the tools they need to respond to any bullying in a productive way. Blowing up can make the situation worse. As long as we’re there to support them at every step of the journey, they’ll never falter.
Parenting is never an easy job, but the good news is that you don’t have to do it alone. If you could use some more advice about bullying and other issues that affect our children, then I’m always here to help. Get in touch with me so you can learn more about my life coaching services. (Click Here)
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