Bullies And Their Effect On A Child’s Self Esteem

We all know that bullying is not good for any child. Unfortunately, bullying remains a reality for many children. Research reveals that 28% of children, between the ages of 12 to 18 admitted to being bullied at school. Bullying may leave the child with physical scars or bruises, which will heal in time. However, there are more permanent effects of bullying that may affect a child well into adulthood.

Bullying and Self Esteem

Physical bruises heal in time, but the damage done mentally and emotionally will linger for years to come. Many children suffer from lack of confidence, as a result of bullying. They start to believe the unkind and hurtful words of the bully, which often leads to self loathing. Victims of bullying no longer have the ability to see themselves in a positive light. They become socially withdrawn and tend to spend almost all their free time alone. They also become socially anxious and in many cases, these victims develop thoughts of retaliation. According to statistics, at least 3 quarters of attackers in school shootings were bullied at some point. These victims always start to make up excuses for why they cannot participate in school activities, simply because they do not want to interact with their bullies, for fear of being ridiculed and embarrassed in public.

How to Tell If Your Child is Being Bullied?

Parents should be on the look out for tell tale signs such as reluctance to go to school, poor performance in school or any changes in the child’s eating and sleeping patterns. As a parent, you should also rule out any other factors that could influence of result in your teen having low self esteem. Once you are sure that your child is being bullied, you should firstly talk to him and let him know that there is noting wrong with him and that bullies make others feel bad, so that they can feel better about themselves. The next step would be to arrange a meeting with the school, the bully and his parents and try and get to the root of the problem for the well-being of both children involved.

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Backpack Safety Tips For Your Kids

Going to school is a physically demanding task for kids, especially those who are just starting out. They have to wake up early everyday to catch the bus and endure a full day in classes. They also have to carry a heavy pack full of books and that can take a toll on their back. Parents can help their children cope by providing them a good backpack that will lessen the stress on their small bodies. Here are a few kids backpack safety rules:

The Weight of the Pack

The books are already going to be extremely heavy and you don’t want to add to that by given them a weighty pack. Choose something that is fairly light yet has enough cushioning and other protective features. It should be large enough to accommodate everything than needs to be carried so that there won’t be a need for another bag for items that won’t fit. If there are lockers at the school, the unnecessary books at the moment should be placed there to reduce their burden between classes.

The Shoulder Straps

Never buy a pack with only one shoulder strap. There must always be two and both have to be used at the same time to balance out the load on the shoulders. Otherwise, one side will always feel more stress. Children may experience posture issues down the road. The shoulder traps should be wide and adequately padded to distribute pressure.

The Waist Strap

Packs that have a waist strap may be considered if the load is unusually heavy. This strap will ease some of the load on the shoulder by transferring it onto the hip bone. This is a system that hikers use themselves to manage carrying their large backpacks on long hikes in the mountains.

The Padded Back

Aside from books, kids may be carrying pencils, scissors and other sharp objects inside their pack. These may protrude at the back and cause discomfort. Be sure to buy something with thick foam padding for this area to protect them from possible bruising.

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Health Care Tips For College Students

College students are constantly exposed to stress in the form of schoolwork, financial problems, athletic pressures, relationship issues, part-time work demands, and other tough responsibilities. All of these can compromise the immune system and make students vulnerable to illnesses. With so much to do, no one has the time or resources to spare for these problems. Health care for college students is primarily the responsibility of each individual. Some guidelines to aide are as follows:

Know the Common Health Problems at Universities

Educate yourself not only about the lessons discussed in class but also the most common health problems encountered by students at the university. Flu, strep throat, sinus infection, colds, bruises, sprains, meningitis and mono are typical but your particular school may have its own unique issues. Keep your ears to the ground as you may pick up news of a disease spreading across the student body.

Make Prevention Measures Part of Your Daily Habit

Don’t wait until you get it to fight it off. Make prevention measures a regular part of your daily habit. Always wash your hands with soap and clean water as you never know whether you’ve touched something that was infected in a public space. Use a disinfectant like isopropyl alcohol or something similar for times when you don’t have immediate access to a washroom. Avoid contact with the sick and be careful when you are walking about to avoid accidents.

Vigilantly Monitor for Symptoms

Catch the disease developing from the outset. It will be easier to fight it off at this stage. Learn all of the usual symptoms and monitor yourself if you have any of them. Fever, coughing, sneezing and headaches are signs that you may be experiencing some underlying medical issue.

Act Quickly to Contain the Problem

Have appropriate over-the-counter drugs on standby to alleviate the pain and symptoms. Drink plenty of water and eat well so that your body can combat the pathogens from the inside. If symptoms don’t fade after a few days, go to the school nurse or doctor for a checkup.

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More Parenting Mistakes To Avoid

All the love and care parents have for their kids may not stop them from making parenting mistakes that could potentially cause issues down the road. Here are some general parenting mistakes you should try to avoid.

Protecting Our Children From Experiencing Risks

The world is a dangerous place and parents will naturally try to protect their children. However, we sometimes go overboard and actually prevent their kids from experiencing healthy risks that help them grow strong, wise, and confident. Study shows that if a child is not allowed to play outside and get an injury, they are likely to grow up with phobias that prevent them from becoming the great persons they are meant to be. Your child might benefit from a skinned knee in order to understand that it is normal to get hurt at some point in life. If you are raising a teenager, it is important that you allow them to learn that a heart break is a normal part of life and that they can come out stronger and more experienced in the dating game.

Coming To Their Rescue Too Soon

Some of the current generation of young men and women don’t have necessary life skills as kids raised maybe 30 years ago might have. This is mainly because nowadays parents tend to swoop in and take care of problems on their child’s behalf. Over-indulging kids with assistance can potentially prevent them from learning skills that help them solve their own problems. If your child is to grow up and acquire leadership skills, they’ll usually need to learn how to tackle different problematic situations without assistance from adults. If they grow up thinking that there will always be someone to come to their rescue when faced with challenges, they might not be prepared to be independent and could actually grow up with low self esteem because of the lack of confidence in themselves.

Raving Too Easily

Kids of this generation have been taught to believe that they are all winners, even when they lose. If you visited a little league baseball game, you’ll notice that the losing team will also get a trophy, which is meant to make them feel special. While this is helpful in one way, it might stop a child from putting in more effort in order to come up with a solution when faced with challenges.

Although these issues are not the same for every child and family situation, this can be a good guide to start understanding potential problems in the future. Tweaking parenting styles can allow both child and parent to grow and learn.

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