As a parent, one of your biggest fears may be to find out that your child or teen is being bullied. It may be even harder to quell your fears with everything the media comes out with - news of kids whose beatings are uploaded to YouTube or who resort to committing suicide rather than endure another day of bullying. So how can you tell whether your child is being bullied, as they may not automatically tell you what is happening?
So what are some of the things you need to look out for? Remember these 'A' adjectives as describe some of the signs of bullying.
Aloof
If your cheerful and outgoing teen suddenly shuts down and shuts you out, you should begin to ask yourself if they might be being bullied or if something else is bothering them. A bullied child may become unresponsive and secretive at home. They may choose to not participate as normal in family moments and may eventually stop interacting altogether. Take notice if they start locking themselves in their room all the time and especially if they are on the computer all the time. Spending so much time alone - they might feel like they are not getting any support and start thinking about taking drastic measures.