Has your child been the victim of bullying? Bullying, whether in school or online, can have a profound impact on your child’s mental health. It can lead to trauma, depression, school avoidance and more. If your child is being bullied, you may want to take action right away. While early intervention is key, it’s also important to approach the situation in the right way. By learning how you can help, you can start supporting your child through this challenging experience.

Unfortunately, bullying is fairly common among children. About 1 in 5 high school students report being bullied on school property, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A similar number report bullying through electronic means. Electronic bullying, commonly known as cyberbullying, can come in many forms. It can occur through texts, social media posts and other forms of communication. The virtual nature of cyberbullying can make it more difficult to address. However, there are still ways you can help your child work through the experience in a healthy manner.

How to help your child deal with bullying in school and online

• Listen — Has your child come to you about bullying issues at school or on social media? When your child is explaining the situation, the best thing you can do is listen. Avoid jumping to conclusions or interrupting your child. Instead, listen closely. If you have questions, ask them in an open-ended way to keep your child from feeling like they’re being interrogated. While it may be tempting to start offering solutions right away, listening can help ensure that you have all the relevant information. Listening patiently also shows that you value your child’s thoughts and feelings.

• Offer reassurance — Being bullied can bring feelings of shame and guilt. Your child may feel like they have done something wrong to deserve bullying, or they may feel weak for being bullied. When your child is experiencing bullying, it’s important to offer continual emotional support. Let your child know that their feelings are valid. Assure them that the bullying is not their fault. It can also help to emphasize your child’s worth as a person, as bullying can diminish self-esteem. Remind your child that they are deserving of respect. This can help them maintain a level of confidence as you navigate the situation together.

• Encourage continued communication — Having your child open up to you about bullying is a good thing. It shows that your child trusts you enough to share potentially traumatizing experiences that may feel highly personal to them. After speaking to your child about the situation, make sure to encourage continued communication. Let them know they can always come to you about bullying and other issues in the future. Continued communication can be key to staying informed about your child’s experiences with bullying and figuring out how you can help.

• Practice coping strategies together — Learning how to deal with bullying in school can help your child deal with challenging situations as they arise. By helping your child build healthy coping skills, you can empower them to deal with emotional distress. Practicing coping strategies can also help prevent your child from turning to unhealthy coping mechanisms like substance use or self-harm. A mental health treatment program can help your child process their feelings and develop further valuable coping skills.

• Monitor social media use — Cyberbullying often happens through social media. If your child’s bullying experiences have mainly occurred online, monitoring their social media use can help you get a better understanding of the situation. You may also want to limit your child’s social media use and set clear boundaries for online activity until the bullying situation is under control. Technological literacy can be helpful in this situation as well. If your child is receiving hateful or abusive messages, you can teach them how to block and report the users behind these messages. This can help reduce bullying online.

Embrace U can help your child process negative thoughts and feelings

Bullying can take a major toll on a child’s mental health. Do you think your child could benefit from professional treatment? If you’re looking for a treatment option that’s more comprehensive than regular therapy, Embrace U can help. Our intensive outpatient (IOP) and partial hospitalization programs (PHP) are designed to meet the mental health needs of adolescent patients aged 10 to 18. With our help, your child can find new ways to cope with interpersonal conflict and improve their emotional resilience.

Contact our team today for more information or to schedule an initial appointment.