Is bullying a growing pandemic?

Muscat: Bullying has become rampant in many schools and thousands of kids are insulted, picked upon and demoralised as it makes the victim feel psychologically harmed, afraid, sick, lonely, embarrassed, and sad. The bully may hit the child, push him, call him embarrassing names, verbally hurt him, or intimidate him.

Bullying is a social phenomenon, as most children are exposed to bullying or harassment. This makes them feel psychologically stressed due to their fear of confronting the bully, and they refuse to play outside the home or even go to school.

This phenomenon poses an imminent danger to children, because it has a severe negative impact on the victim, especially children. The child continues to suffer from it for a long time if a parent or specialist does not intervene to put an end to the problem.

The child needs empowerment and continuous attention, and it is necessary to create a safe environment for him so that he can talk about anything without worrying about being blamed, ridiculed, or feeling that no one will understand him.

You must begin to teach your child about bullying at an early age, especially before he enters kindergarten or school, in indirect ways at first, and then move on with him later to directly explain bullying. These methods will help you convey the idea of bullying to your child and make him or her understand that it is necessary to reject it and that it is unacceptable.

Through the movies that you watch with your child that contain any type of bullying, the child can be informed what happened, and how it affects the child who is being bullied, and even the child who is bulling. For those children who bully others, people see him in a very ugly way because he is internally weak and arrogant.

Or through stories that happened to you or that you heard about, such as success stories about people who were bullied and who defeated the bullying and did not stop at it and exploited it to their advantage, such as the story of the ugliest woman in the world who became an international speaker and gave lectures on self-confidence and self-motivation.

Psychologists say that there are several signs that your child appears to be bullied. There is a high possibility that he or she will be exposed to bullying when he or she shows unwillingness to go to school and his constant excuses for absence, the child's loss of self-confidence appears in his tendency not to choose and to let others choose for him, as well as his feeling of failure, tendency to isolate himself and sit alone continuously and loss of appetite and aversion to food, even from the foods he loves and prefers most.

Also, sometimes the child may feel aggressive towards his colleagues and talks about them in a way full of hatred and malice and also if there are traces of bruises or wounds on his body, the source of which is unknown. Also, there is always loss of concentration and an unusual lack of academic achievement.

Psychologists advise parents to educate their children about bullying and to teach them how to deal with bullies through several means including staying away from the bullying child. Children should not respond to the provocations, and make sure to surround the child with a group of friends to reassure him and feel confident. Encourage the child to inform school officials immediately, while making him aware that informing officials is not a sign of cowardice.

It is also advisable to teach and train the child in martial arts, not to remain silent, and to respond firmly to the bully in a defensive manner.