HHS HealthBeat (August 27, 2012)

The signs of bullying

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Nicholas Garlow with HHS HealthBeat.

If you’re worried that someone is bullying or being bullied, look for changes in their behavior. Let’s talk about the bullies. If a child is aggressive, is overly competitive and aware of popularity, or isn’t taking responsibility for their actions, they might be bullying others. Being bullied has warning signs, too.

Deborah Temkin is at the U.S. Department of Education.

“They become more anxious and depressed and may be at more risk to use substances or miss school.”

Parents can be aware of their kids’ actions and habits.

“Look for behavioral changes in your kids and talk to them about what’s going on, because it may be either they’re being bullied or they’re bullying others. And sometimes they’re involved in both, so we need to be very aware of any sort of changes we see in our kids.”  

Learn more about the signs of bullying and how you can take action to prevent it from happening at stopbullying.gov.

Learn more at healthfinder.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Nicholas Garlow.

Last revised: August 26, 2012