Child Bullying: More than a Rite of Passage

    PHOENIX, AZ, November 10, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The seriousness of a child bully sometimes gets neglected by school officials and even parents. If bullying persists without appropriate action from school officials, there is no telling the psychological, emotional and physical damage that can happen to your child. In many cases parents or school officials will right off incidents with "kids will be kids" but no child should suffer the emotional and physical consequences of a bully. According to bullying statistics, over thirteen percent of kids aging from 6-13 have reported being involved in bullying. In the past year many cases have transpired involving the link between school bullying and suicides in children. You do not want your child to feel helpless and feel that suicide is the only answer. Speaking with an Arizona personal injury attorney can help you figure out the right course of action especially if there was obvious neglect from school officials. In Tempe, Mesa, Scottsdale, Phoenix and surrounding area's many elementary, middle and high schools have reported incidents on bullying by a classmate. While some of these have been properly handled, other children are left to suffer with the physical and psychological consequences of a bully.

Many parents are unaware of what to do when their child is being bullied. There are many steps you can take to help your child deal with this problem so it can be handled as soon as possible. According to safechild.org some things a parent can do if their child is being bullied include:

How to Deal with Bullies

• Tell your child to contact a teacher or school official when the problem occurs instead of dealing with it themselves.
• Tell your child to not react, walk away when confronted with a bully.
• Tell your child to say "You're right" and walk away from the bully.
• Talk to school officials like a teacher or principal about the situation.
• Tell your child to avoid the bully if possible by taking a different route to class, but not to hide out.
• Teach your child to stand tall and be confident about themselves without feeling the need to resort to physical violence.

While taking these steps may help in dealing with bullies, they may not help if there is neglect within your child's school system. If your child's bullying problem has not been properly handled by school authorities, there is a greater risk of physical and emotional consequences for your child. Some examples include:

Physical and Emotional Consequences

• Low-self esteem
• Depression
• Bruising/scarring
• Broken bones
• Suicidal thoughts
• Shame/Humiliation
• Detachment

A common misconception is that bullies are gender specific. Statistically, the most common form of bullying occurs with a group of girls bullying an individual boy. As a result of Hollywood, most parents frequently think of only boy on boy bullying. That is why it is important to receive all the facts about your child's bully, in order to figure out how to best handle the situation.

Contact an Arizona Personal Injury Lawyer

When dealing with a child bullying situation, most parents are unsure on how to push the school administration for the appropriate action. If there is a consistent neglect from the school officials and school district contacting an Arizona Personal Injury attorney can help ensure that your child receives help as soon as possible. If the bullying is severe, in some cases the bully's family was also approached for compensation for the injuries. For more information: www.solomonrelihan.com.

# # #